Written by Leanne West.
The Biermans Bantams hosted 3 home games this weekend and outshot
their opponents, the Burlington Eagles on Saturday and the Niagara Falls
Rivermen twice on Sunday in a double header...
Saturday's game 1 of the weekend would see end to end play with no goals chalked up for either team in the first period. However the beginning of the second would see the start of the scoring as Burlington would find the net first to take the lead. Puck movement in the Eagle's end would tie the game, as (Pinkerton's) Justin Donnelly would tip a shot in from his defense shooter Alec Tiley (Owen Sound), and also assisted by winger Jordan Caskenette (Owen Sound). Midway in to the 3rd period the Eagle's would once again have success at the net to take a 2-1 lead and final score. Tristan Lewis (Saugeen Shores) stopped 21 shots for his Highlander squad.
On Sunday the Grey Bruce boys outshot the Niagara Rivermen both games, but came up short of goals. In game #1 of the day the Rivermen would take the first lead at the 11 minute mark of the first period. Battling back, the Highlanders would keep the puck in the Rivermen's end, to tie up the game with Caskenette firing one in from the far side of the goal line. The Rivermen would then once again take a lead for a brief time. Taking control in the Rivermen's end again, the Biermans boys would find the net one last time as Logan Freiburger (Arran-Elderslie) would deflect in a cross ice pass from Brent West (Shallow Lake) to tie things up 2-2. While the Biermans squad would continue to battle hard and outshoot the Rivermen, the Niagara team would still manage to defeat the Highlanders by a final score of 5-2. Jason Goes (Cookstown) stopped 19 shots for the Highlander team.
The 2nd game of the day against the Rivermen would see end-to-end play from start to finish. The first goal of the game was an unfortunate one for Grey Bruce, as a Rivermen shot would deflect off of a Grey Bruce skate and into the net. The Rivermen would continue to score to take a 2-0 lead. Continuing to apply pressure in the offensive end, the Biermans boys would slice the Rivermen lead in half, as West would find the net, with puck moving help from Cole Hodgins (Mount Forest) and Jasper Akiwenzie (Owen Sound). Taking yet another lead the Rivermen would finish the first with a 3-1 score. Solid team efforts would see the Highlanders bounce back to tighten the game up again, seeing Brady Becker (Durham) take the puck into the Rivermen's end and find the mesh on a heads up pass from defense Collin Zettler (Hanover) as well as a game tying goal from Devin Perdue (Hanover) from Donnelly. The Niagara squad would manage to take yet another two goal lead, taking the score to 5-3. Continuing to dig deep and keeping the Rivermen goalie busy, the Grey Bruce team would come back one more time, as Akiwenzie would slide one in to create another one goal difference. With 24 seconds remaining, Lewis would leave the net in a last ditch effort to tie things up, but the Rivermen managed to capitalize on the empty net, ending the game with a 6-4 win.
The Highlanders have now finished their home ice game schedule for the season, as they travel to Brampton and Oakville next weekend.
Biermans Bar & Grill is the proud sponsor of the Grey Bruce Highlanders Major Bantam team and support local sports! You can find Biermans at 100 1st Avenue on the main street in Chesley, Ontario. Join us for 60¢ wing Wednesdays or $7.00 burger Tuesdays! Biermans boasts a fun friendly family atmosphere with a touch of class! With live entertainment on weekends and a large banquet facility upstairs with a capacity of 80+, there’s always excitement in the air at Biermans Bar and Grill. Visit Biermans, it’s good for ya!