Nov 02, 2010 | dvannoord | 347 views
Stars Spook Predators
On a gloomy Halloween afternoon the Bantam AE Stars travelled to Forest for a tilt against the Predators.
The day may have been gloomy, but the Stars were striking on all cylinders inside The Shores Rec Centre on Halloween. Josh Nesbitt drew the start in net and was chomping at the bit for his 1st W of the season. The Stars drew 1st blood as Brandon Stevens chipped in the game's 1st tally with Jacob Clow drawing the lone assist. A little over a minute later Captain Andrew Wood hit the back of the net for his 1st marker of the season as Josh Butler drew the helper and the Stars had themselves a 2 goal lead after 1 period. The defence was making Nesbitt's day pretty easy after 1 frame holding the Predators to 2 shots on goal.
The middle frame saw Matt Roberts pot his team leading 6th of the season with Brandon Stevens adding the assist and the Stars were up 3-0 heading to room for the break. Holding the home team to a mere 10 shots through 2 periods the game plan was being executed to perfection. Strong play in the corners and along the walls was key to keeping the Predators wide and making Doze's day pretty easy through 2.
The 3rd period saw the Stars jump out to a 4 goal bulge as newly added transfer Brad Loewen steered one towards the goal that eluded the Lambton Shores goaltender for a nice welcoming gift for Brad. Matt Roberts added the lone assist on Loewen's tally and the Stars were looking like they were well on their way to a blow out. Something must have struck the nerve of the Predators bench because they seemingly woke up for the rest of the 3rd and controlled most of the play. Nesbitt answered the wake up call and kicked aside 20 of 22 shots in the final frame as the Stars found themselves on their heels repeatedly as the home squad seemed determined to turn a Halloween trick of their own and steal one from the Stars. The lead was quickly cut to 4-2 and the Preds were sniffing out the comeback. All hope was snuffed out, with the Predators goal empty for an extra attacker, as Josh Butler played spoiler and pounced on a loose puck in the neutral zone to pot an empty netter to ice the 5-2 win to seal Nesbitt's 1st win in the Stars net this season.
Nice win for the Stars on the road but the negative of the game was the 3rd period. The Stars looked to be in the giving mood as they allowed Lambton Shores to draw close and control the period clawing back to within 2 goals. If not for some stellar play in goal, this could have been ugly. Full effort for the entire game is what breeds wins and the Stars should bank the 3rd period as a "what not to do" lesson.
Final Score:
Stars 5 Predators 2