The Membertou Jr. Miners are now 3-2-0 on the season but wins have not been easy to come by especially two weekend games in Windsor and Brookfield against the Valley Maple Leafs and Elks. First off Friday in Windsor:
Membertou 3 Maple Leafs 1
The game displayed no end-end to action but had spurts of excitement despite the fact on occasion there was an accidental body-check thrown although those were few and far between. The Leafs were outshot 50-34 by the Jr. Miners but so many of those shots were from a distance although give credit where credit is due and that has to be to Leafs net minder Aiden Durnford who did stand-out on particular occasions.
In the opening period, the Jr. Miners ran into some penalty difficulty and it cost them on one occasion as after only 11 seconds having elapsed, the Leafs Liam Ferguson let a soft wrist shot go from the blue-line which totally escaped Jr. Miners goaltender Spencer Shebib and the Leafs were up 1-0. A quick scramble in front of the Leafs net 31 seconds later saw Josh MacKay scored to knot the game at 1-1. Shebib came up big a few minutes later as the Leafs were buzzing all over the Membertou net for approximately 45 seconds with pin point passing and looking perhaps the most impressive the entire game but Shebib turned away Andrew McCarron from in close and it became the only quality scoring chance the Leafs would get during the flurry.
Membertou then picked up their pace of play somewhat and kept the play in the Leafs end but despite 4-5 shots on Durnford, none could be considered exceptional scoring opportunities. Shorly after Captain Ashton Paul took a beautiful pass along the crease with Durnford down but Paul could simply not get the puck up over the Leafs goalie from the left side. The Jr. Miners then were called for a penalty with 1:56 left in the first and 30 seconds later after the Jr. Miners missed on a clear break and shot wide of the net but the Leafs remained in somewhat of a slumber and the Jr. Miners Josh MacKay left alone in front of the net connected short-handed to give his team a 2-1 lead after the opening period in which Membertou held a 17-8 shots advantage. There was no scoring in the second period but with the Jr. Miners back in the penalty box, McCarron missed on a partial breakaway. The game for the second time picked up pace and became wide-open for a couple of three minutes and Brandon Grant missed in close for the Jr. Miners. The Leafs came right back but Shebib covered up an opportunity with his pads before he Jr. Miners with 4:59 left in the second saw Nathan MacMillan skate in from the left side only to see Durnford come up with a nice pad save. With 3 minutes left in the second, Ashton Paul with the Jr. Miners all over the Leafs net shot only to see it ring off the cross-bar.
In the third with the Jr. Miners still holding a 2-1 lead, they went back to the penalty box and Ryan MacDonald missed in close for the Leafs on the power-play but that was essentially it as with Durnford pulled for an extra attacker and the Leafs with 6 skaters, Nathan MacMillan despited an empty net marker for the Jr. Miners with 1:51 left in regulation to give Membertou a 3-1 victory. The Leafs dropped to 1-3-0 and will begin a home and home series with the 4-2-1 Sackville Blazers in Sackville Mon Oct 25 before returning to Windsor Friday Oct 29 for the second game of this home and home.
Membertou 4 Brookfield Elks 3 (Shoot-out needed)
Josh MacKay who scored the Jr. Miners winning goal Friday in Windsor, did the same Saturday afternoon in Brookfield as he connected in the third round of the shoot-out to give his team a 4-3 win. Captain Ashton Paul of the Jr. Miners and the Elks Callum McAndrew scored earlier to force the third round. Paul tied the game in the third for the Jr. Miners after the elks took a 3-2 lead to the dressing room after forty minutes. In the second, Coady Jollymore-Godfrey, Aiden Fisher and and Coady McKay scored for the Elks while Logan Snow tallied for the Jr. Miners. Membertou is now 3-2-0 on the season while the Elks are 0-3-1.
GrayJay Sports