Lots of hair will be lost in Oakridge
tonight, players, coaches and parents pulling their hair out at all the goals
that weren’t, while playing the Bandits tonight at Medway Arena. Dylan had a game for the ages tonight, not
only stopping 33 of 35 shots directed his way, but making several stops that
were nothing short of unfathomable.
Luckily, this time the goalie’s heroics were rewarded with an excellent all-around team effort, with the Bandits flying all game and generally (except for a couple of unnecessary late penalties) playing smart. Jake opened the scoring in the first, rushing to the net to tip in a beautiful shot/pass from Benoit that truly was one of the best goals of the year... not because of flash, but because that’s how good teams win games... rushing to the net for tip-ins and rebounds and screens... something the Bandits may just be starting to get the hang of.
After Oakridge tied it on a lucky bounce to end the first period, Ryan G. restored the one goal advantage by doing another thing the Bandits need to do more of... just shoot. His behind-the-net shot banked in off the startled Oakridge goalie, and the score was now 2-1.
Jake, who’d had just one goal in his first 27 games, scored his third in two games later on a beautiful passing play from Patrick to Josh to Jake to mesh... and suddenly it was 3-1. Another late period goal by Oakridge narrowed the gap to 3-2, setting the stage for a wild third period in which Dylan was nothing short of brilliant.
First star = Dylan (33 of 35 shots saved)
Second star = Jake, with two goals and hard skating both ways all game
Third star = Ryan G., for not just the one goal, but for 5 excellent shots on net and always jumping on his horse to gallop down pucks fired into the Oakridge end.
Honorary mention goes to everyone else, but especially to the three AP players (Garrett D., Justin C., and Ryan H.) who all worked hard and flashed considerable skill. Garrett led the team in shots with 6, and Justin was a rock on defense, repeatedly helping to calm things down when things got crazy in our end.
Next game is Tuesday night against North London. Could the Bandit’s win streak be extended to three?