Langton peewees step up
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The Langton Master Mechanic peewees proved it isn't always necessary to have a win to earn a victory.
Despite losing 1-0 to the Waterford Wildcats on Monday, the Leafs were proud of their performance.
“It was actually a better game for us than what we have been playing. We played a solid defensive game,” said Langton coach Andy Koot.
The Leafs have been struggling to come together as a team all season, but Koot saw some definite improvements in their game against the Wildcats.
Neither team was able to find the net during the first period even though both teams were battling hard.
“We had good positioning. We skated hard,” said Koot. “We were just lacking in offence. We just weren't getting pucks to the net, weren't getting bodies to the net.”
Waterford's Riley Matthews scored in the second period, assisted by Zane Pearson.
“We stepped it up in the third. We've been dying out in the third. That's when we've been getting beat lately,” said the Leafs' captain Michael Smithson.
It also helped that the third frame was a little rough for the Wildcats who took a few penalties, which at one point saw them hold off the Leafs with only three men on the ice.
With a minute left on the clock, Langton pulled its goalie, leading to a nail biting 60 seconds.
“We played as a team instead of just one player,” said Smithson.
The Leafs managed to keep the puck in Waterford's end for the majority of the final minute, with the exception of one shot on their empty net by a Wildcat that failed to find the crease.
“We had a lot of faceoffs in their end. We were just going for that much needed tie,” said Koot. “It would have been nice if we had it. We had it on our sticks a couple times – hit a couple posts. We did well holding the puck in, it just wasn't there for us tonight.”
The Southern Counties minor hockey playoff game game comes in the midst of OMHA playdowns. The Wildcats will start their third round series against Dunnville on Feb. 14.