Nov 16, 2014 | Dan Culbert | 554 views
Lamain and Restelli Lead 99ers As Home Unbeaten Streak Now 5
The two big guys on the back end teamed up to shutdown the Woodstock powerplay as the Mortgage Financial 99ers killed off 5 of 6 penalties and the Captain scored the short handed winner in a 3-1 win which extended the home unbeaten streak to 5 games.
The return of D Nathan Foster and Kyle Jackman from injury allowed the team the ability to begin working towards statistical improvement in the key areas of special teams, and the creation of the Lamain/Restelli shutdown pairing is thought to be the start. Time will tell if the early success will continue, but there were some very positive signs that this could be a key element as the team looks to climb up the standings and claim home ice advantage for some playoff series at the end of the season.
In a bit of a chippy affair, where none of the goals were scored 5 on 5, the 99ers were looking to respond with a home win of their own after being soundly beaten in Woodstock in the second game of the season. Andrew Kitchen got the home team on the board 4 minutes in when he put the puck past the Woodstock goalie from in close with assists going to Nathan Foster and Max Klunder as the 99ers took this lead into the break. In the second, the Navy Vets let everyone know why they are off to such a good start as they evened the score just past the half way point of the period. Then with Woodstock getting a 4 minute powerplay and having the opportunity to take the lead, the Max Klunder came up with another big goal as after blocking a shot, he broke down the wing, and cutting in from the left wing beat the Woodstock goalie with the unassisted shorthand handed marker which eventually became the game winner for the Captain. In the third, Will Smith continued with the support scoring from the defence as he scored a 4 on 4 goal to seal the deal with assists going to Kitchen and Zak Culbert picking up the assists.
Kevin Dawdy was strong in the nets in 3-1 win.
Next up for the 99ers is the Waterloo Memorial Tournament