A Win on Wednesday vs. the Visiting Eagles
With Game 4 of the league schedule about to begin, the U11 Hurricanes would don their brand new jerseys for the first time to meet south-side rivals, the Burlington Eagles.
Halton would face off this evening in Sherwood Arena while missing both a forward and a defenceman, yet managed to outshoot their opponents (22-14) despite the short bench.
Early in the first period, the boys in double blue required a few tries to clear their defensive zone using the boards and attempting breakout passes. They would find success in the form of a stretch pass up the left side requiring a good save from the Burlington goalie to keep the game scoreless. The Eagles would soon turn the tables and just missed an open net opportunity on a rebound before taking the early lead with 4 minutes and 22 seconds remaining in a fairly even first period.
Just two minutes later, a Halton shot from the left wing bounced 90 degrees off the goalie's pads across to the right winger who fired the puck along the ice and tied the game at ones. The Hurricanes continued to control the play with another great scoring chance before the first period buzzer sounded.
The break to change sides appeared to to be just what Burlington needed. 51 seconds into period two, the Eagles would steal the puck on a clearing attempt and quickly go up 2-1. Less than two minutes later, the home side would answer back during an odd man rush with a pass to the trailing winger whose outstretched stick would push the puck just past the goal line. The Hurricanes would soon go up 3-2 as one forward went in alone from the blue line to score with a shot over the goal keeper's glove. Feeling the momentum on their side, Halton increased their lead to 4-2 as another winger used a slight hesitation move to fool the goalie before a strong wrist shot would sail over his right shoulder. Then with 1:30 left in the period the team would take its first penalty and 25 seconds later a shot that appeared to hit the crossbar was called a goal for the opposition, narrowing the game to 4-3.
With the third period underway, a Halton forward would race neck-and-neck to get a step ahead of the defender and score through the 5-hole at five minutes in. Twenty seconds later, the team was awarded a power play and immediately scored again as the left defenceman put the puck on the net right from the draw and extended the lead to three goals. Both teams would take multiple penalties during some intense final minutes of play but the Hurricanes would hold on to double up the Eagles with the final score 6-3.