Kincardine Hair Connection Atom LL1 played host to Kincardine Meridian LL2 for their second game on Sunday, 07Mar2010 in Tiverton. LL2 soundly defeated LL1 in their first game of the series 2-6. LL1 was looking to avenge the loss with a solid outing.
The game got off to a shaky start for LL1, with LL2 getting deep into LL1’s end and getting several chances that were turned away by Tyler’s (#1) stellar goaltending. As LL1 shook off the early jitters, they started to take the play to LL2. Late in the first period, Colton (#14) with good forechecking got the puck to Darian (#3). Darian took a long shot at the net which deflected off a defenseman’s skate and into the net. LL1 had the lead and never looked back.
Four minutes into the second period, Brendan (#10) passed the puck out of his zone to Colton (#14) who took the puck to the net and got off a low shot that found the stick side just before he got checked. This second goal further raised the morale of the team. Matt (#12) rushed the puck up the ice and was checked just before he could get a shot off. Cameron (#6) danced over the blueline with the puck, took it through centre ice and over the blueline before dumping it deep. Defensive coverage remained solid, with both Martin (#2) and Isaiah (#5) skating back hard to help the defense out. Ryan (#16) did a great job in front of the net covering LL2 forwards and then worked hard to get down ice to pursue the puck and forecheck. The furious action of the second period ended with LL1 up 2-0.
In the third period, LL1 kept up the pressure. Darian (#3) got the puck along the boards, passed it out to Isaiah (#5) who passed it back to Darian in the slot. Darian’s shot deflected off a defenseman into the net with Michael (#13) going hard to the net just in case it didn’t get there. LL2 managed to get into LL1’s end a few times, but the hard work and good positioning of LL1’s defensive trio of Cameron (#6), Brendan (#10) and Matt (#12) kept the shots to the outside, letting Tyler (#1) make the stops. In the last minute of the game, Isaiah (#5) carried the puck up the wing and once over the blueline passed it to Michael (#13) on the far wing. Michael passed it back to Isaiah, now in the slot, who drove the puck into the low glove side for LL1’s final goal. The result was a well deserved 4-0 win for LL1, with Tyler getting his first well deserved shutout of the year.