Jan 15, 2013 | sbaia | 1968 views
Erie North Shore Storm Peewee Minors 01/10/13-01/12/13 – OMHA Playdowns
The Storm ROCKS the playdowns!!!
Thursday January 10 the Peewee Minors travelled to Essex for the first game of the playdown series. Placing second in their division meant they would not get the buy and would have to play at least three games to qualify for the next series. The Storms opponents for this game were the Amherstburg Stars with the Storm as home team. Both teams were anxious for the win but the Storm wanted it more! Ethan Litster started things off with an unassisted goal halfway through the first period. There was no more scoring until the second period when the Storm turned on the big guns and scored a total of five goals! Amherstburg helped them out with a steady stream of players going to the penalty box. Scoring for the Storm in the second period were Kristian Pelling, Daniel Price (two goals for Daniel!), Ethan Litster (his second of the game!) and Rebecca Misiasz. Assists went to Daniel, Ryan Mucha (2 assists!), Franco Shaften (2 assists!), Rebecca, Declan Handley and Owen Stannard. Amherstburg somehow managed to slip one past goalie Scotti Beneteau just before the end of the period. Third period the Storm refused to let up and scored another four goals, once again assisted by Amhertsburgs knack for drawing penalties. Daniel Price got his third of the game earning the hat trick, assisted by Declan and Kristian. Then Declan got a goal of his own assisted by Kristian and Ryan. Robbie Brush scored next assisted by Ethan and Ryan. The final Storm goal went to Kristian with his second of the game, assisted by Daniel. Amherstburg got one last goal through the pipes three seconds before the final buzzer but it was too little too late. The first game of playdowns went to the Storm with an incredible tally of 10-2 with the Storm outshooting Amherstburg 46-11!!! Scotti Beneteau did a fantastic job defending the Storm net, and Storm forwards Austin Marr, Kristian Pelling, Declan Handley, Ethan Litster, Rebecca Misiasz, Owen Stannard, Robbie Brush and Daniel Price (who scored the winning goal!) all played an impressive game breaking through the Stars defense and peppering the goalie with shots! The entire team did an outstanding job in this game!
Friday January 11 saw the Storm as home team once again, this time facing the Kent Cobras. The last time these two teams met the Storm lost players to suspensions and injuries and certainly didn’t want that to happen again! Both teams had already secured their first win in the playdowns and were ready to taste victory again. Halfway through the first period Ethan Litster put the Storm on the scoreboard with the game winning goal assisted by Owen Stannard and Franco Shaften. Then seconds before the end of the period Daniel Price put the puck in the net assisted by Mitchell Renaud. Second period both teams fought hard for the puck until 5 minutes before the end of the period when Michael Connelly scored another Storm goal assisted by Owen. The third period was incredibly hard and challenging for the Storm as the refs called penalty after penalty against the team, but even when they were down to three players on the ice the Storm held on and played great defense, preventing any Kent scoring. At the final buzzer the Storm claimed another playdown victory with a score of 3-0! The Storm outshot their opponents by a very impressive 34-11! Goalie Connor Axford was stupendous in net earning a well deserved shutout! Storm defensive players KayCyn Hernandez, Michael Connelly, Ryan Mucha, Franco Shaften and Mitchell Renaud all did an awesome job keeping the Cobras away from the Storm net. A great effort by all the Peewee minors!! Congrats on another fantastic win!
Saturday January 12 the Storm played against the home team Essex Ravens. These long time rivals were anxious to face each other again to prove who is the better team! The winner of this game would automatically go on to the next series so there was a lot at stake! Both teams hit the ice playing hard and strong. Each team saw scoring opportunities through the first period but none were successful until Rebecca Misiasz got things started with a goal at the halfway point, assisted by Declan Handley. Essex tied it up a few minutes later ending the period in a draw. Second period saw the Storm pull ahead once again with a goal by Ethan Litster assisted by Mitchell Renaud. Two minutes later Essex tied it up again, but the Storm refused to let up and Declan Handley popped the game winner in the net assisted by Rebecca! Not finished, Declan then scored an insurance goal halfway through the third assisted by Daniel Price and Kristian Pelling, giving the Storm a 4-2 win over the Ravens and another sweet victory! Goalie Connor Axford practically stood on his head warding off the 21 Raven shots on net, with the Storm getting 18 shots.
The Peewee Minors really kicked it up a notch for these playdowns and gave it everything they had! The game stats prove what a powerhouse this team is. Throughout these playdowns they only had ONE goal scored against them at full strength! This was a very exciting and nerve-wracking series to watch and at the end you could see how proud everyone was of these talented hockey players! Congratulations Storm for a great series!
Next series the FIRST PLACE STORM plays against the SECOND PLACE team, the Essex Ravens…..