Nov 02, 2014 | Heatherb | 816 views
LL2 Kinucks Continue Unbeaten to Start the Season
And the beat goes on for the Kincardine PeeWee LL2 Kinucks, who ran their season-opening win streak to three games with a 1-0 victory over a stubborn Shallow Lake squad on Saturday morning.
With a heavy snow squall raging outside the Tiverton Arena, the first glimpse of another feature of winter showed itself inside the old barn – the persistence and determination of a Kincardine squad standing up to a stiff test.
Shallow Lake (0-3-1) had come into this game boasting a much-improved defensive setup; after an eye-opening 10-2 loss to TDCMHA, the Lakers had rounded into defensive form with a tie and two one-goal losses, all low-scoring affairs. Clearly, this was to be a defensive battle. As noted earlier by head coach Brian Saunders, defense and goaltending are the rocks upon which the LL2 Kinucks’ success will be built this season, and Saturday morning’s affair was certainly an example of this.
The Kinucks (3-0-0) hit the ice with a hard-charging pressure game, hemming the Lakers into their own zone for much of the first frame. A strong puck possession game, combined with some determined work along the boards and in the corners, provided Kincardine the lion’s share of early chances, only to be snuffed out by a Lakers goalie who was clearly “in the zone.” Point shots, one-timers, and dekes all failed to find the twine, with the first period ending goal-less.
Despite the frustration of carrying the run of play with nothing to show for it, the characteristic Kincardine grit began to shine through in the second. With the exception of a few odd-man rushes the other way (quickly defused by the Kincardine defense), play remained in the Shallow Lake zone for much of the middle stanza, eventually capped with a sizzling one-timer low to the corner from the stick of Jared Petrie.
Heading into the final period with a precarious one-goal advantage, it was clear that while fans had paid for a full seat, only the edges would be used for the final 15 minutes of this nail-biter. While not tested frequently earlier in the game, Kinucks goalie Aiden McKay began to see more and more action as the minutes ticked away, standing tall as the determined Lakers began to crash forward looking for an equalizer. With time running down, a bold gambit by the Shallow Lake coach saw the Laker goalie pulled for an extra attacker with almost four minutes to play. A desperate few minutes of hockey ensued, with Kinucks defenders draped over their checks like blankets, while McKay doggedly pursued his shutout. As the horn sounded, fans finally drew a breath – Kincardine had held on for a 1-0 win, their perfect season intact.
Kincardine hit the road for their next match, a Thursday night affair in Mildmay against an 0-1 South Bruce squad.
Final Score: Kincardine 1, Shallow Lake 0
Shutout: Aiden McKay
Scoring: Petrie 1 (unassisted)
Written by Travis Fitzgerald