written by: The Trainer
Last week the Highlanders stumbled out of the gate to begin the 2013 season. This weekend they were looking to gain some traction at home vs. the Bulldogs and away against Halton. Last years OMHA silver medal winners would square off against the Hamilton Bulldogs on a beautiful autumn Saturday afternoon in Ayton.
The Bulldogs were always a tough team to play and today would be no different. There were moments when the Highlanders could easily control the action, unfortunately though, most of the game it appeared the home team had their blinkers on. Unorganized breakouts , missed passes and lack of any skating or physical play had them in an early hole. Assistant captain, Connor Roberts finally got them on the board when he went wire to wire and snapped a nice wrister blocker side to make it 2-1. That would be all the scoring for the red and white as the score ended 3-1. Outstanding goaltending by Lucas Pfeil kept this one as close as it was.
Game 2 would be at the Powerade Centre in Brampton against the Halton Hurricanes. With their ears still ringing from the post game coaches’ speech, the boys traveled down the 410 looking to get their season on track. It was another lovely autumn afternoon, this time in the city. While jumbo jets flew overhead the visiting team took to a green patch outside to conduct their pre-game warm up. Would they come out like geldings or thoroughbreds? Well, when the starter pistol went off the Grey Bruce Minor Bantams hit the track at a full trot against a big Halton team. The larger ice surface played to their advantage as they could stretch out their hind legs and play with their customary speed. Halton would get the first one but the pony’s kept up their style of play and newly minted Captain Chet Phillips would square it at one with a blast from the blueline. The hurricanes would score again in the third on a very opportune rebound to gain another lead. Not to worry though, the thoroughbreds kept chomping at the bit and assistant captain Brendan Cederberg, after jockeying for position at the front of the net, backhanded one low and just inside the post to tie the match at two. It was a dead heat right to the end of the game with the Highlanders finally showing a little silver medal confidence. The game ended in a 2-2 tie, but it would now appear you can go ahead and close the barn door, the horse’s are finally out.
Next Game Sat Oct 5 : Highlanders vs. Oakville Rangers