On Thursday November 3rd, the U11 Hurricanes hopped onto Highway 403 for an exhibition match with the Hamilton Huskies at Chedoke Twin Pad Arena.
Halton saw some good chances early in the game starting with a nice read by the defence to intercept a cross ice pass and generate an opportunity for the offense. Soon after, the Hurricanes executed a clean zone entry play only to be stalled by a penalty called away from the puck and set up the first of two successful penalty kills in the period. When back at even strength, the boys pressed forward on the attack with a nice pass from behind the net and a wrap-around attempt but ended the period deadlocked in a scoreless battle.
Entering the second period, a strong breakout play drew a tripping call on the Huskies defense to stop a potential 2 on 1. On their first power play of the game, the Hurricanes had one great chance to get on the scoreboard and just after the penalty expired, a Halton left-winger picked off a Hamilton pass at the blue line to take the puck in alone and score on the blocker side to go up 1-0. Later that period, a 'Canes forward made a good move to keep the puck in the offensive zone and turned to shoot from the top of the circle over the goalie's shoulder for a 2-goal lead. Halton kept the pressure on for most of the middle frame and enjoyed a 5-on-3 man advantage for 35 seconds before taking a third tripping call of their own. After some strong Halton defence and multiple blocked shot attempts, the Huskies would get on the scoreboard in the final seconds of the period when the puck was deflected in a high-arc over the goalie.
On just the second shift of the third period, Hamilton would tie the game 2-2 as a shot from the slot trickled through the 5-hole for a Huskies forward to tap it across the goal line to the cheers of the hometown crowd. However, the Hurricanes would find some good fortune of their own just a few minutes later. On a play by the right winger to put the puck in front of the net, the Huskies defense tipped it past their own goalie for Halton to re-take the lead at 3-2. The opposition tried their best as the clock slowly bet against them. First, a 2-on-1 rush was stopped by a quick glove save from the Halton goale before a pair of penalties would leave the Hurricanes short handed at 5-on-3 for 1 minute and 40 seconds. Some close calls plus a ringing goal post kept fans on the edge of their seats but when the buzzer sounded, Halton stood tall while the Hamilton faithful howled at the final result.