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Weekend Jr. A Recap (Nov. 28)
2016-11-28
Riley Cunningham crashes the St. Stephen net in MHL action November 25. (Photo credit: Emily Halbersma)
The Wildcats finish a two home game weekend.
(written by Justin Halbersma)
This season continues to be a struggle for
the Valley Wildcats Jr. A hockey club.
On November 25, the St. Stephen Aces came to the Kings Mutual Century Center to face the Valley Wildcats in Berwick. Before the game, the Wildcats presented a donation to the Aces in support of the Scottie Greene fund. Greene is a member of the St. Stephen Aces who was severely injured in a car accident in September.
The Wildcats have developed a penchant for taking leads in games and not being able to hold on. The Cats jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead over the Aces…only to watch the lead evaporate as the game wore on. The Aces won the game by a convincing 6-2 score.
The Wildcats fired 43 shots at Aces netminder Kyle Michalovsky, but he was ready for the challenge. After the second goal in the first period, Michalovsky shut the Wildcats down, allowing his teammates to rally.
Brady Griffin-Hefford paced the Aces attack with two goals. Adam Crowe, Brandon Dauphinee, Hunter Wood, and Cole Easton added singles. Crowe would tack on two assists to make it a three point night for him.
Nic Blanchard and Curtis Scales replied for the Wildcats. Justin Ritcey uncharacteristically allowed four goals before being replaced by Greg Maggio in the Valley goal. The two Valley goaltenders faced a combined 55 St. Stephen shots on the night.
Still stinging from that loss, the Wildcats prepared to take on the Yarmouth Mariners on November 27. The Mariners are one of the top teams in the MHL this season. But the Wildcats gave the Mariners all they could handle, giving the squad from Yarmouth fits and making them work all game. The Mariners squeaked out a 3-2 overtime victory.
Once again, the Wildcats ran into a goaltender that seemed to be more brick wall than human. The Wildcats outshot the Mariners 44-28 on the night, but Yarmouth netminder Brendan Cregan slammed the door shut on the Wildcats all afternoon. Valley did everything right, but wherever there seemed to be open net, Cregan took it away in a flash.
Ritcey once again regained his form, making several fine saves in the Wildcat goal to keep the momentum in Valley’s favor. He gave his team a chance to steal the victory all game long.
The power play was the difference. Yarmouth scored twice with the man advantage, including one in overtime.
Aaron Maillet, Mike Snow, and Chris Goreham scored for Yarmouth, while Ilya Putintsev and Evan Scott replied for the Wildcats.
This has been a frustratingly inconsistent season for the Wildcats thus far. The Yarmouth game showed some positive spark, as the Wildcats proved they can skate with the best teams in the league. They’ve also proved resilient, bouncing back with strong efforts after losses. The only thing left is to turn that effort into victories. There’s a lot of hockey left to be played in the MHL season, and lots of time for the Wildcats to right the ship and make a concerted charge up the standings.
This season continues to be a struggle for
the Valley Wildcats Jr. A hockey club.
On November 25, the St. Stephen Aces came to the Kings Mutual Century Center to face the Valley Wildcats in Berwick. Before the game, the Wildcats presented a donation to the Aces in support of the Scottie Greene fund. Greene is a member of the St. Stephen Aces who was severely injured in a car accident in September.
The Wildcats have developed a penchant for taking leads in games and not being able to hold on. The Cats jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead over the Aces…only to watch the lead evaporate as the game wore on. The Aces won the game by a convincing 6-2 score.
The Wildcats fired 43 shots at Aces netminder Kyle Michalovsky, but he was ready for the challenge. After the second goal in the first period, Michalovsky shut the Wildcats down, allowing his teammates to rally.
Brady Griffin-Hefford paced the Aces attack with two goals. Adam Crowe, Brandon Dauphinee, Hunter Wood, and Cole Easton added singles. Crowe would tack on two assists to make it a three point night for him.
Nic Blanchard and Curtis Scales replied for the Wildcats. Justin Ritcey uncharacteristically allowed four goals before being replaced by Greg Maggio in the Valley goal. The two Valley goaltenders faced a combined 55 St. Stephen shots on the night.
Still stinging from that loss, the Wildcats prepared to take on the Yarmouth Mariners on November 27. The Mariners are one of the top teams in the MHL this season. But the Wildcats gave the Mariners all they could handle, giving the squad from Yarmouth fits and making them work all game. The Mariners squeaked out a 3-2 overtime victory.
Once again, the Wildcats ran into a goaltender that seemed to be more brick wall than human. The Wildcats outshot the Mariners 44-28 on the night, but Yarmouth netminder Brendan Cregan slammed the door shut on the Wildcats all afternoon. Valley did everything right, but wherever there seemed to be open net, Cregan took it away in a flash.
Ritcey once again regained his form, making several fine saves in the Wildcat goal to keep the momentum in Valley’s favor. He gave his team a chance to steal the victory all game long.
The power play was the difference. Yarmouth scored twice with the man advantage, including one in overtime.
Aaron Maillet, Mike Snow, and Chris Goreham scored for Yarmouth, while Ilya Putintsev and Evan Scott replied for the Wildcats.
This has been a frustratingly inconsistent season for the Wildcats thus far. The Yarmouth game showed some positive spark, as the Wildcats proved they can skate with the best teams in the league. They’ve also proved resilient, bouncing back with strong efforts after losses. The only thing left is to turn that effort into victories. There’s a lot of hockey left to be played in the MHL season, and lots of time for the Wildcats to right the ship and make a concerted charge up the standings.