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East Kings Midget A : Game Reports
<- - MIDGET A TEAM <- - GAME REPORTS
Winterhawks Soar Over Warriors
The East Kings Winterhawks and the West Hants Warriors squared off at Acadia last Saturday for game one of the best of three series with the winner advancing to play Sackville for the right to represent the two zones at the Midget 'A' Provincials 19-21 March at Kentville.
West Hants was still high after winning their 3rd tournament of the year but it was East Kings who jumped out to an early lead just 12 seconds into the game when Evan Wittenberg intercepted an errant pass and walked in alone on a break away and found the twine. The Winterhawks continued to press, out shooting West Hants 16-6 but it would be the Warriors who would score next when Mitch Aker set up Ryan Ivany. However Adam Brewster did a nice wrap around on a pass from Ryan Murphy and East Kings went up 2-1.
Early in the 2nd the Warriors responded when Jesse Bass scored, assisted by Matthew Bulger and Ryan White. The Winterhawks then replied the very next shift when Travis Sanford scored a nice goal with assists awarded to Ethan Bent and Brandon Benjamin. Again the Warriors responded only minutes later to tie the game up at 3-3 when Matthew Bulger scored from the top of the circle with passes from Mitch Aker and Jesse Bass.
The 3rd period was a fairly close affair with the Winterhawks out shooting the Warriors 11-7 and the fans were kept at the edge of their seats with end-to-end play. Corey Chapman scored early in the 3rd on a power play when he dumped the puck in on net and the goalie misplayed it. With the Winterhawks up 4-3 they became shorthanded, taking a double minor penalty with 7 minutes to play. East Kings was able to kill the penalty and hold off a late surge by the Warriors to steal game one.
Game two was then played the next day at the Windsor Exhibition arena. The Warriors out shot the Winterhawks 10-7 in the first period and scored the only goal when Jordan Allen rifled a shot past Evan Warner. The Winterhawks responded in the second with pressure of their own when Travis Sanford broke free of 3 checkers and drove to the net for a shot. Brandon Benjamin followed up the play and scored on the rebound. Chris Chute responded a minute later with a blast from the point, scoring his first of the year on a nice set up from Evan Wittenberg and Brandon Conrad. East Kings then closed out the scoring in the second period when Travis Sanford shot at the net again and Ethan Bent converted the rebound to put East Kings up 3-1 heading into the intermission.
The coaching staff then used the 2004 World Juniors championship as a reminder of what can happen to 2 goal leads in the third. With that fresh in their mind Corey Chapman and Chris Chute then sent Ryan Murphy up ice, from deep in their zone, as he used his speed and strength to out-skate the Warriors defence then cut across the front of the net to pot his first goal of the series. From that point the Winterhawks found renewed speed and confidence, out-shooting West Hants 19-7 in the final frame to win the game 4-1 and win the series two games to none.
East Kings now take on the Sackville Blazers for the last series with the winner advancing to the Provincials. Game one will be played at Acadia Sat 21 Feb at 2:30pm and game two in Sackville on Sunday at 5:00pm. The players hope to see you there to cheer them on.
Submitted by:
Paul Murphy, Coach
EKMHA Winterhawks Midget 'A'
Published by: East Kings Winterhawks Midget A
Last Updated: February 3, 2004
Contact: [email protected]