Dec 19, 2011 | Dan Culbert | 365 views
Nothing To Show For Great Effort
When the bounces don't go your way, the results of a lot of hard work are not reflected on the scoreboard. This was the case for the Contractors Rental Supply Midgets on last night as they hosted the red hot Sarnia Sting who came into the game with 3 wins in a row and extended that to 4 with a 2-0 victory over the home town team.
Insert Smolarz
The 99ers played a near perfect game against a much higher ranked team, but the hockey gods were not smiling on them this night. The boys played with good speed and intensity, pushing the pace against the Sting which lead to numerous chances the best of which found the crossbar and sailed up into the screen about 5 minutes into the period. The 99ers PP which as been generally ineffective of late was sharp in the first when presented with a 4 minute advantage and the good puck movement and even better puck recovery lead to several good chances to get on the board first, but solid goaltending and a bit of luck kept the game at zeros for the period.
In the second it was more of the same as the 99ers pushed the visitors hard looking as the team was looking to grab a couple of points during the toughest stretch of the schedule to date. Brent Smolarz joined the rush and took a pass and broke in on the Sting goalie beating him clean only to have this shot go off the bar and out of play. Less than 3 minutes later, Jamie Kelly picked up the puck on the half boards and walked in to again hit the cross and have the puck go out of play. The score remained tied until a sloppy cline change lead to a too many men on the ice penalty and as things go when you are in a slump, for one of the few times in the game the team wasn't physical and got caught reaching for the puck, a Sarnia player walked out of the corner and jammed one in from the side of the crease.
In the third, the team was hot for the first 20 seconds and again pressed hard, but unfortunately, the Sting pushed back and owned the puck for the next 3 minutes and during this time banged in a second goal after a positioning error. The team sagged for a couple of minutes after this but rebounded with a solid effort for the rest of the period. The 99ers game went back and forth with Ben Beechey and the Sarnia goalie trading stops and during another puck by the 99ers they were able to use speed driving the net, to draw another penalty and get yet another chance to get closer. The effort was there, but the results not as even with the goalie out for the last 75 seconds, the best the team could do was come close as the time ticked away.
Next up for the 99ers is a home game with the second place St. Thomas Stars on Wednesday prior to heading into the Silver Stick Tourney over the Christmas break.