Stephens Equipment Highlander Bantams Stumble In Weekend Play, News, Bantam, 2011-2012 (Grey-Bruce Highlanders AAA Minor Hockey Association)

                The game in Oakville started off with the Rangers pressing hard to set the tone of the game early and it paid off in the first shift as the home team opened the scoring at 13:56 and pretty much owned the first period.  Goalie Tyler Fassl (North-Bruce Peninsula) held the Rangers to the one goal for the opening frame.  Early in the second period the Rangers went up 2-0 just as their man-advantage ended, scoring at 12:25 before the Highlanders could get the returning player back into play to help.  At the 10:30 mark the Highlanders got on the board with their own power play goal when Jordan Vanhaelemeesch (Saugeen Shores) won the face off to Logan Davidson (Creemore), who touched it back to Jamison Buck (Collingwood) for the partially screened wrist shot on net to beat the Rangers goalie.  Just over a minute later Spencer Elder (Owen Sound) and Caleb Stephens (Collingwood) teamed up on a 2-on-1 with Elder setting up Stephens for the tying goal at 9:20.  The Highlanders ended up taking a penalty shortly after and the Rangers power play came through with a goal at 7:45 to return the lead to the home team.  With the Stephens Equipment team trying to recover from the set back the Oakville team scored 14 seconds later at 7:31 and restored their two goal lead.  Later in the period the Rangers were assessed a 5 minute penalty that carried over into the third period and the Highlanders had the opportunity to get back into the game.  At the 14:25 point in the third period Garrett McFadden (Kincardine) scored on the man-advantage to close the gap to within one goal, assisted by Elder.  The Highlanders kept up the pressure for most of the period, out-playing the Rangers, but could not score the tying goal and went home with a 4-3 loss to the Rangers.

                With a late return home to their beds and the distraction of a flood of e-mail texts about some Highway Traffic Violation just before the game, the Stephens Equipment team got off to a sluggish start against the Welland Southern Tier Admirals.  At 3:36 the Admirals’ hard work paid off as their fore check caused a turnover, resulting in the opening goal of the game.  The second period saw the Highlanders having the benefit of some man-advantage situations but not able to convert the opportunities into any goals as the Admirals’ goalie kept the disk out of the net.  On one of the man-advantages for the Highlanders one of the Admirals broke up the play at their blue line and skated down the right boards to fire a shot past the Highlanders goalie for a 2-0 lead.  At 6:59 the Highlanders got on the scoreboard when Marshall Smith (Kincardine) threw the puck in on the Admirals net with Elder getting off a rebound shot that was stopped by the visitor’s goaltender.  Vanhaelemeesch followed up on the shot by going to the net and firing the stray puck into the open goal.  The Admirals restored their two goal lead at the 1:20 mark of the second period.  A determined Highlanders team came out in the third looking to get back into the game but the Admirals withstood the initial barrage and then scored two goals late in the period at 6:42 and 2:17 to finish off the Stephens Equipment crew for a 5-1 score.

                The game against Brampton went well for the first two periods and the end result could have been more positive but sometimes things don’t go the way they should have.  After a scoreless first period where the Highlanders dominated and having one goal called back on an early whistle, the Highlanders scored the opening goal at 13:58 of the second period when Tyler Rolfe (Shelburne) made a nice pass across the front of the net to Vanhaelemeesch who fired the puck into the open net for a 1-0 lead.  Brampton tied things up when one of their forwards took a stretch pass to go in alone for a breakaway goal at 10:55.  Minutes later the Battalion scored on the man-advantage at the 9:20 mark of the second to take a 2-1 lead.  The Stephens Equipment team kept up the pressure and after drawing a penalty from Brampton, Van Ooteghem scored on the man-advantage at 1:30 to even things up at 2-2.  Jamison Buck (Collingwood) assisted on the play.  In the third period the Battalion pressed harder than the Highlanders, but it couldn’t score until the 4:45 mark when a pass out from the corner bounced in off a defender’s skate and into the net.  With 1:48 left in the game, Brampton finished off the Highlanders with a questionable goal while on the man-advantage for a 4-2 win.

                The Stephens Equipment crew finish off their regular season play next weekend with a Saturday home game in Chesley against Oakville and a game on Sunday in Burlington.