Nov 13, 2016 | Luke Holmes | 1023 views
Aylmer Tournament Recap
South Kent Novice Rep placed fifth at the Aylmer Fall Rep Challenge this weekend. The team narrowly missed making the semifinals after going 1-1-1 in the qualifying round.
The Lightning opened the tournament with a 7-0 victory against Paris on Friday. A four goal first period really built the confidence of the team. Aiden Campbell and Travis DeCook staked the Lightning a 2-0 lead, each scoring unassisted goals. Nolan Mallory added to the lead assisted by Wesley Mifflin and Ethan Bester. Campbell added another unassisted goal before the period ended making the score 4-0. Luke Holmes and Brighton Anderson both scored their first goals of the season in the second period giving South Kent a 6 goal lead. Campbell finished off his hat trick by scoring in the third period assisted by Mallory and Anderson. Lucas Eberle and Rowen Verbeek shared the shutout in the win. Stellar defence from Luke Holmes, Ethan Bester, Connor Watorek, and Sawyer Ferren limited the Paris offence to minimal scoring opportunities.
After a 7 hour layoff, the Lightning returned to the ice to face Shallow Lake in their second game. The boys were evidently sleepy to start the game as they fell behind 5-0 in the first 7 minutes of the game. The team regrouped at the end of the first period and set their minds to making a miraculous comeback. Nolan Mallory led the charge with 3 unassisted goals in the second period. Brighton Anderson scored early in the third to bring South Kent within one goal of tying the contest. With 3 minutes remaining Wesley Mifflin completed the improbable comeback, scoring assisted by Luke Holmes. The game would finish in a 5-5 tie. Lucas Eberle shut the door to the Lightning net for the final 23 minutes, allowing the team to achieve the tie.
On Saturday the team played the host Aylmer Flames. They knew it would be a tough game as Aylmer had only lost one game thus far this season. The Lightning stormed out to a 3-0 lead in just 6 minutes of play. Once again Campbell and DeCook started things off with unassisted goals, although an assist probably should have been given to Lucas VandenHengel on DeCook's goal. AJ Kirkwood then scored his first of the season assisted by Brayden Lackie to pad the lead. Aylmer would not be deterred though and would score 2 goals before the first period ended. Halfway through the second period Aylmer would score again, tying the game. Nolan Mallory put the Lightning up one assisted by Luke Holmes and then Brighton Anderson would restore the two goal lead, scoring a beauty upstairs. It was his third goal of the tournament and was assisted by Brayden Lackie. The Flames would get within one scoring with just 32 seconds remaining in the period. The goal ignited the Aylmer offence to start the third period as they added 2 more goals in the first 54 seconds of the third, giving them a 6-5 lead. The Lightning made a goaltending change and Rowen Verbeek came in to deny the Aylmer shooters for the rest of the game. It was a back and forth third period but the Lightning were unable to score the equalizer and fell by the final score of 6-5.
The coaching staff is very encouraged by the efforts shown in the tournament. A lot of progress has been made in the improvement of the team. The boys gained a lot of confidence in their abilities this weekend and learned a few lessons along the way. We know they will continue to work hard and hopefully be rewarded with better results as the season continues.