Bantam A ('97) - Stars Deserve Better in Kitchener
The St. Thomas Major Bantam Jr. Stars relished the return of Zach Smith and Dylan Newman to the lineup on Tuesday night at the Activa Sportsplex in Kitchener. The Jr. Stars played perhaps their smartest and most complete game of the season but were only able to come away with a 2-2 tie. A wise sage named Folksy summed up the effort during the post-game interviews, "It was a real solid team effort. We failed to capitalize on our chances and they got a couple of lucky bounces."
The Stars came out strong and missed a few glorious scoring opportunities early in the game, including a hit goalpost from Jesse Tottle. However, it was the Kitchener Rangers that struck first on a flukey play. Ranger defenseman Brian Daub avoided a check from Michael McArthur in the neutral zone and hoisted a high lob from just inside the red line. The puck landed a few feet in front of the Stars net and took a wicked bounce right past a helpless Brennan Agius to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead.
The Stars tied the game before the end of the first stanza. With 3:47 left in the period, and while enjoying a man advantage, Tyson Durfy's shot from the point was partially blocked by a Ranger defender, but the puck came loose to a wide open Jesse Tottle in front of the Kitchener goal. His nifty spin-a-rama fooled the Ranger netminder and left him with an easy tap in to tie the game at 1-1 heading into the second period.
While St. Thomas controlled much of the play, neither team was able to bulge the twine in the second period as they headed into the intermission still tied at 1-1.
The Rangers used the last of their lucky bounce cards with 7:59 left in the game. Once again it was Daub starting the play. His point shot was heading well left of the Stars net but was unwittingly deflected by the stick of Ranger's captain Justin Borys just at the top of the face off circle. The deflection caught Brennan sliding left to follow the shot but after the deflection, the puck slid agonizingly slowly into the vacated right side of the net for a 2-1 Ranger lead.
Not to be deterred, with less than four minutes remaining on the clock, the Stars capitalized on another power play opportunity. From his office behind the goal line, Jesse Tottle spotted Dane Jacoletti sneaking in to the left post and dished a beautiful saucer which momentarily landed on Dane's tape before it was slammed home to tie the game at 2-2. Pierce Lawrence also earned an assist on the play.
Based on their play and the number of scoring chances, the Stars certainly deserved a better fate than a tie in Kitchener. However, as Clint Eastwood once succinctly whispered "deservin' has got nothing to do with it".
Game Notes: Zach Smith dished out a devastating open ice hit just outside the Stars blueline.....it was also nice to see him unleash his intimidating slapshot a few times....there were many more moments in this game when Stars fans actually enjoyed their man advantage....word on the street is that the Hamilton make up game will take place this Friday at 7:30 in Hamilton....stay tuned for confirmation.....we are also trying to schedule a light practice for late Thursday morning or early afternoon to be followed by a video session, leading into the O.M.H.A. preliminary round tournament the following day....stay tuned for confirmation but put it on the calendar....Josh Mallory is scheduled to make his gradual return to the line up this weekend....good luck on the exams....btw, the Clint quote was from the 1992 Oscar winning movie Unforgiven.....until next time...keep your stick on the ice, cover the short side and don't get deked.
