OJS U-18 Combine: Day Two Recap
Day two featured a total of six games, with each team appearing in two contests. Before the games even started, the goalies were on the ice working through drills with shooters from last year’s Jr. A team.
Overall, the intensity definitely ramped up on day two, with more goals, more hits and faster play across the board. Every player was trying to impress to give themselves the best chance at being selected for the all-star game the next day.
Black vs Burgundy: 3-2 Black Win
The day started with a contest between Team Black and Team Burgundy. Ethan Juneau got the scoring started with a laser from the slot that beat the goaltender high on the blocker side. Shortly thereafter, Team Burgundy’s Maxwell Windell stuffed home the rebound on a rush play to tie the game.
Things stayed close for a while with the teams exchanging chances in the second period. Noah Nunan found the back of the net for Burgundy to take the lead for the first time in the game. While things looked good for Burgundy, Black quickly responded, scoring two goals in quick succession. The first went to Emerson Jackson after a nice feed from Presley Kelly-Wright, and the second was scored by Noah Lewis to seal the victory.
Red vs. Blue: 4-3 Red Win
Two of the highest scoring offenses on day one played each other early yesterday afternoon in a battle to see which team could outscore their opponent.
Kairui Gardner scored just over thirty seconds into the game to give Team Blue the early lead, however, Lincoln Chalmers scored a pair of flashy goals in quick succession to snatch a 2-1 lead for Team Red.
Henry Millar and Arjun Uppal both tallied goals in the second period to give Team Red a solid 4-1 lead heading into the third period. Kyson McMillan and Devin McCarthy both tallied goals for Team Blue in the third, but the comeback was ultimately unsuccessful.
Orange vs. Black: 6-2 Black Win
Team Orange’s first game was a contest against a Team Black that had already taken down Team Burgundy earlier in the afternoon. While the two teams were evenly matched early to start the game, Team Black exploded late in the game to take the win.
Xavier Wren picked up a pair of goals to put Black ahead 2-0 early in the game before Cooper Dawe hit back to cut the Black lead in half. Phoenix McNeil scored to regain the two-goal lead for team Black, however, Cooper Dawe would once again find the back of the net to keep Orange within shooting distance at the end of the second period.
Team Black took over in the third period, scoring a string of three goals in quick succession. Emerson Jackson got his second goal of the day early in the third, before Noah Lewis and Jake Mulvhill both piled on with goals of their own to put the game away.
Team Purple vs. Team Red: 3-2 Purple win
Game four of the day was another tight contest with just one goal separating the two team at the end of regulation.
Jacob Srdoc ripped a puck bar down from the point to open the scoring. That allowed Team Purple to settle into the game and find their rhythm it was their first time on the ice since day one. Joshua Rickard struck back for Team Red who were looking to make up for a tight loss to start the day against Team Black.
Tied at one, the two teams strove back and forth during the second with each team picking up a goal. Rickard recorded his second tally of the game to put Team Red ahead, before Madden Kelly found the net to tie things up.
Ultimately one goal made all the difference in this game, and it was scored by Team Red. Henry Millar put the puck in with the assist going to Rickard who played a part in all three Team Red goals during the game.
Team Burgundy vs. Team Orange: 1-1 Tie
The first tie of the weekend came in the second to last game on the afternoon of day two. Team Orange and Team Burgundy played a scrappy hard-hitting game in which the goalies stood out for making some very nice saves.
The first goal of the game came late in the second period off the stick of Matthieu Perron, who fired the puck high and over the goaltender in an impressive display of marksmanship to put Team Orange ahead 1-0.
As time wound down, you could tell Burgundy was feeling the pressure to get on the board and tie the game. Ryan Begley found a rebound during a scramble play in front of the net and slipped it home to tie the game at one.
Neither team managed to find an edge for the rest of the game, which finished in an amicable tie.
Team Blue vs. Team Purple: 4-1 Blue Win
Rounding out day two, the final game of the day was a contest between Team Blue and Team Purple that ended in a 4-1 victory for the Blue side.
The only goal scored by Team Purple came off the stick of Isaac Noffke who scored his first goal of the weekend. From there, it was all Team Blue, who notched goal after goal, leading to a solid win.
Goal scorers for Team Blue included Kyson McMillan, Luciano Dianardo, Leo Makovich and Logan Morrice.
