Midget AE Stars Lose a Heartbreaker, News, Midget AE ('95-'97), U16-U18 Travel, 2012-2013 (St. Thomas Minor Hockey)

This Team is part of the 2012-2013 season, which is not set as the current season.
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Nov 13, 2012 | hcosgrove | 957 views
Midget AE Stars Lose a Heartbreaker
Sunday night in St Thomas, the Midget AE Stars put forth one of their best efforts to date, only to see that effort end in a loss to their rivals from Port Stanley.

The Midget AE Stars started out with some great rushes and excellent scoring chance thanks in part to some solid puck movement by our defense.  With the help of Pierce Lawrence, asked to help out the back end due to some injuries and suspensions, the defensive corps did a great job of limiting the Jr. Sailors to only 4 shots on goal.  The Jr. Sailors got on the board first though when Matt Martyn of the Sailors drove down the right wing to score his first of two goals.  The celebration was short lived as only 33 seconds later the Midget AE Stars scored to tie the game.  Derek Smith was wide open at the front of the net and buried a beautiful one time shot with assists going to Thomas Cosgrove and Aidan Bilyea.  The Midget AE Stars gained confidence from that goal as Matthew Roberts walked out from the corner just over a minute later and went 5-hole on the Sailors net minder. The lone assist went to Bailey Douglas on the play.  The period ended with the Stars holding a 2-1 lead, out shooting their opponents 8-4 and putting plenty of pressure on the team from Port Stanley.

The second period was relatively back and forth and a 14-13 shot total favoring the Stars, including some excellent scoring chances for both teams. Brennan Agius was solid in net, making several saves on some cross ice passes.  At 8:54 of the second period though, a seeing-eye point shot through a screen found its way into the top corner of the Stars net and the game was tied at two.  Once again though the Stars pushed on and only 1:44 later Aiden Bilyea scored on a feed from Don Jakubowski to put the score at 3-2.  Brennan Agius made a spectacular glove save on a cannonading drive from just inside the blue line late in the period to hold the lead.

The third period was an anxious one as the Midget AE Stars started slowly and the Sailors began to press harder. Just under three minutes into the final stanza Cody Howard finished off a gorgeous pass from Matthew Roberts to give the Stars a 4-2 lead.  Then, the wheels began to fall off the Stars bus as the Sailors scored on Mike McCarthy’s second of the game and with a high powered rush by Matt Martyn at 6:54, they tied the game at 4-4.  The Stars seemed to be losing faith and were barely holding on as the Sailors continued to press.  The nail in the coffin came with just 15 seconds left to play, as Adi Wardini capitalized during a scramble in front of the Stars net, giving the Sailors the 5-4 victory.

When the Midget AE Stars play with confidence and team spirit they can compete with any team they face, but have yet to play three full periods of hockey this year.  If they can keep their feet moving, the passes crisp and play well within their own end, who knows what this team can achieve.  Their next test comes on Monday night against the high flying Mt Brydges Cougars in Komoka. This game is a build-up to the Midget AE Stars home tournament next weekend in St Thomas beginning on Friday afternoon.