It would be another cold and snowy night as the Walkerton Capitals
played host to the Saugeen Shores Storm 1 team on January 16, 2024. The game would be a back and forth tilt and
entertaining for those in attendance.
It would be the Storm who would open the scoring early in
the first period when a centering pass deflected into the Walkerton net off a players
skate. Walkerton would respond quickly
when Luka Abell tied the game with an end to end rush before slipping the puck
passed the Saugeen goaltender. Just
under a minute later Walkerton would score again when Kyle Graul fired the puck
into the back of the net, Duncan Abell and Curtis Rowe would pick up assists on
the play. The Capitals would continue to
press and would be rewarded when Chase Kaufman parked himself at the side of
the net and found the open corner after some strong work by the Capital players
in the Saugeen end. Assists would be
awarded to Curtis Rowe and Kyle Graul.
Walkerton would then add to its lead when the Capitals players were able
to keep the puck in the Storms zone and cycled the puck with authority. Travis Goll would take a pass from behind the
net and fire the puck over the glove of the Storm goalie. It would be Spencer Odell and Marshall Odell
getting assists on the goal. The Storm
would score late in the period to cut the Walkerton lead in half when a shot
from just outside the blue line found its way into the net just under the crossbar. Walkerton would lead 4-2 after the first fifteen
minutes.
The Storm would come out quickly in the second period and
score after the puck slipped over the line after pressure at the side of the
net. The Saugeen forwards would continue
to press but Owen Waddell was up to the task as he made several key saves to
keep Walkerton ahead by a 1 goal lead.
Kyle Graul would fire the puck stick side to restore a 2 goal lead. Travis Goll would score just twenty seconds
later after taking a pass from Spencer Odell before finding the net. Just thirty seconds later Luka Abell fired
from just inside the blueline after taking a pass from Niklas Howald to increase
the Walkerton lead. Walkerton would lead 7-3 after two periods in the books.
The third period and Saugeen Shores would again come out
quickly and be rewarded with a goal after a strong three way passing play. The Capitals defence would shut down any Storm
opportunities and for the most part kept the puck out of the Walkerton
end. Duncan Abell would score from the
slot area with a hard wrist shot, Marshall Odell would be credited with the
assist. Late in the game Luka Abell
would score to complete his hat trick doing so while shorthanded in the final
thirty seconds of the game.
Walkerton would win the game that was a lot closer than the
score would indicate. At times they
found themselves trapped in their own end but they refuse to buckle and played
strong solid hockey. Once again it was a
team effort that sent the boys onto victory.
WALKERTON CAPITALS -
9
SAUGEEN SHORES STORM -
4