Oct 15, 2012 | stottle | 937 views
Midget Stars Frustrated in The Fall Classic
Impressions Printing Midgets came away from the Owen Sound Fall Classic tournament with a 2-2 record after a hard-fought, but disappointing 2-1 overtime loss to the Mississauga Ojibwa in the quarterfinals. Making the loss even harder to swallow, the Jr. Stars thought they had scored the winning goal only seconds earlier when a snap shot from Steve Drew appeared to hit the crossbar in the back of the net and carom back out to the slot. The officials failed to signal whether or not the shot was a goal, and the Ojibwa immediately picked up the loose puck, skated the length of the ice and jammed home a rebound from close range for the victory. Post game pleading with the officials fell upon deaf ears.
The Stars opened the tournament at the Bayshore Arena on Friday night against the host Owen Sound Jr. Attack. Assistant captain Keaton McIntyre opened the scoring for the Jr. Stars midway through the first period with another one of his trademark rushes which bring Stars' fans to their feet. Picking up the puck just outside the St. Thomas blue line and gaining speed through the neutral zone, Keaton sped outside of the Owen Sound defender and cut sharply back to his left, avoided a second Owen Sound defender and snapped a quick shot just inside the post and over the left pad of Jr. Attack goaltender, Matt Vokes.
With just over four minutes to play in the first period, Jesse Tottle sent Steve Drew in on a breakaway from the neutral zone, only to be thwarted by Vokes. With 2:34 left to play in the first, Owen Sound forward Neil McCrae intercepted a Stars breakout pass and skated in alone on netminder Dan Black from the top of the faceoff circle. Despite a quick release, Dan flicked out his lightening quick left hand to deny McCrae the tying goal.
However, at 2:25, the Jr. Attack forward Matt Ward won a face off in the St. Thomas zone back to Spencer Sullivan at the right point. Sullivan let go a harmless looking wrist shot but Ward got enough of his stick on the shot to deflect the puck into the far side past a helpless Dan Black to tie the score at 1-1 heading into the second period.
The Stars regained the lead at 7:30 of the third period while enjoying their only power play opportunity of the game. From the faceoff circle to the left of Netminder Vokes, Keaton drew the puck cleanly back to Dane Jacoletti. Dane held the puck for second to freeze the defenders before he neatly threaded a pass back to Keaton still standing at the faceoff dot. Keaton's off-speed wrist shot eluded the glove of Vokes to bulge the twine and give the Stars a 2-1 lead. Nick Phillips was also credited with an assist.
The remainder of the second period was scrambly, with neither side able to muster any sustained offense or puck control, but the Jr. Stars were content to head into the third period with a one goal lead.
It was a different team in the third period as St. Thomas dominated offensively from the drop of the puck and generated several glorious scoring opportunities. During the first shift, Andrew Fenn took a Jesse Tottle pass in the slot and lasered a wrist shot just over the cross bar. Midway through the period, T.J. Turley scooted into the Owen Sound zone on a breakaway but elected to hold the puck a little too long waiting for Josh Butler to catch up to the play, and was denied a shot on net by a diving Jr. Attack defender. Less than a minute later, a St. Thomas point shot bounced off the inside of the Owen Sound post and out the other side. Andrew Fenn was then denied another scoring opportunity off a nice feed from Jesse Tottle on a 2-on-1 break. With less than two minutes to play, Jesse sent Will Strong in on a partial breakaway from the blue line, only to be frustrated by some questionable stickwork by the Owen Sound defender.
Despite failing to take advantage of their scoring opportunities, the Jr. Stars stingy defence did not allow the Jr. Attack any realistic chances to tie the game and St. Thomas skated off with a well-deserved 2-1 victory.
The Stars played their second game early Saturday morning against Parry Sound, and played like they stayed up late Friday night. They appeared lethargic throughout the game and could not create any type of offensive attack. The game was completely forgettable for Stars fans with the exception of a thundering body check by Aiden Estabrooks in the second period and a dangerous hit from behind on Brodie Dunley in front of the Stars bench that seemed flagrant to everyone in the arena but the officials. Despite playing with only 11 skaters, Owen Sound went on to best the Stars 2-0.
The Stars played the final game of their round robin series on Saturday afternoon against the Barrie Jr. Colts. While St. Thomas came out with a little more vigour, it was the Colts that opened the scoring with two goals within thirty seconds midway through the second period. At 5:37, Barrie captain Ryley Egerton cruised in on a breakaway from the blue line. Stars goaltender Greyson Tottle was a fraction of a second late with an attempted poke check, allowing Egerton to easily slide the puck into the empty cage and open the scoring for the Colts. Only 26 seconds later, off a turn over in the St. Thomas zone, Liam Spurgeon fed a quick pass to Matt Donald in the left slot. Donald's quick snap shot somehow found a crack between the pads of Tottle and dribbled across the goal line for a 2-0 Barrie lead heading into the third period.
The Stars scoring drought continued until 6:55 of the third period, a total of over 65 minutes, or almost two complete games. Aiden Estabrooks ended the desiccation with his first goal of the season. Aiden picked up the puck in his own zone and took advantage of an open lane down the the right boards. Driving wide around the defensemen, Estabrooks attempted a centering pass which was partially blocked by a Barrie defender. Estabrooks continued to pursue the play as he raced around behind the net and poked in the loose puck laying in the crease to narrow the deficit to 2-1. Steve Drew earned the only assist on the play.
With only 1:22 left to play, Dane Jacoletti's point shot deflected off the leg of Will Strong and through the legs of Barrie puckstopper Martin Lauzon to tie the game at 2-2. Continuing the improbable comeback, Jesse Tottle accepted a breakout pass from Ryan Vandenbroek in the neutral zone and drove wide around a Barrie defender. After drawing the defenseman to him, Jesse dropped the puck for Ryan, who adroitly joined the rush. Ryan's first shot was stopped by Lauzon, but he continued to drive to the net and slammed home his own rebound for the winning goal with only 50 seconds remaining on the clock. The Stars held on for a 3-2 victory and finished second in their pool with a 2-1 record.
The quarterfinals were played very early Sunday morning against the Mississauga Ojibwa. Keaton McIntyre opened the scoring for the Stars in the first period with another highlight reel goal. Taking advantage of his superior speed, Keaton beat the Mississauga defender and cut in toward the net before roofing a wrist shot to the top right corner, giving the Stars an early 1-0 lead.
The score stayed 1-0 until midway through the third period. A very questionable intentional offside call at teh Mississauga blue line resulted in the faceoff taking place deep in the St. Thomas zone. Centre T. J. Turley was dismissed from the faceoff circle on another head-scratching call, forcing winger Josh Mallory to take the draw. As luck would have it, Mississauga centre, Doug Clayton tipped the puck forward off the draw and fanned on a wrist shot toward Stars goaltender Dan Black. The off-speed shot fooled Dan and the puck found a hole under his arm to tie the game at 1-1.
The score remained tied throughout the rest of regulation play and into overtime. Just under five minutes into the first overtime frame and playing 4 on 4, Jesse Tottle carried the puck down the right side and beat the first Ojibwa defender before spinning and laying a perfect pass onto the stick of Steve Drew. Stevie let go a wrist shot which some observers felt hit the cross bar in the back of the net before rebounding out into the slot. The officials did not make any type of call and the play resumed. Mississauga picked up the loose puck and immediately started their breakout. A lead pass split the two St. Thomas defenders, sending Randy Lacerte in alone on Blackie. Dan made the first save but the trailer had three wacks at the rebound before he finally stuffed it past the goal line for the winning goal.
Tournament Notes: According to tournament rules, the quarterfinals was supposed to be played between the second place team in Pool A, which was St. Thomas, and the third place team in Pool B, which Mt. Brydges. Why that didn't take place is anyone's guess.....St. Thomas clearly established that it can compete against any opponent it has played against so far this season....Greyson Tottle's win against Barrie was his first of the season......my vote, as well as the vote of many others, for tournament MVP goes to Fred McVety.....the Stars will be without Aiden Estabrooks against their next opponent on Tuesday, the London Bandits, as he serves a one game suspension for hitting from behind....after Tuesday, the Stars will be the host team for the Midget Division of the St. Thomas Jr. Stars Major Tournament starting on Friday night.