The Hockey Hound
On Sunday January 27, the Bantam Raptors headed into Grande Prairie to play the IPAC GP2 Knights.
The Raptors had a one point lead in the standings with 18 points over the GP2 Knights with 17. The GP2 Knights were the only team this year able to beat the Raptors.
The first period saw some intense back and forth hockey that ended in no goals being scored by either team. Although the score board failed to recognize it there were some spectacular plays from a few kids.
Kyra Bertrand had an amazing first period on the blueline for the raptors. Bertrand was making perfect breakout passes and holding the blueline and keeping pucks deep like a seasoned veteran. One play in particular showed Bertrand’s skill to a T. She stepped up as GP2 approached her defensive blue line and GP was forced to dump the puck in. Bertrand flipped from backward to forward and raced into the corner to retrieve the puck. She picked the puck up with her back skate in one fluid movement and kicked it up to her stick where she proceeded to speed behind her own net and set up a fast breakout pass up the right wing.
Austin Bradley also had a solid first period with three shots on net and three backchecks that forced GP2 skaters to flip weak chances at the goal by Bradley forcing them to the outside.
The second period was also back and forth and hotly contested. GP 2 opened the scoring with a breakaway goal from their leading goal scorer Liam Glenn at the 16:18 marker of the period.
The Raptors answered back 21 seconds later on a rocket point blank shot from Logan Lloyd-Howe on a nice cross ice feed from Devin Trudel. But less than two minutes after that GP2 took the lead again with another fast break down the side from Glenn.
At the 7:21 mark the Raptors evened it up on a goal from Landon MacEachern set up by Kole MacNeil. But again within two minutes GP2 took the lead again on a quick snap shot from the right side from GP2 Captain Dustin Ambrose.
As if almost on cue the Raptors Answered back once again with another hard wrist shot from MacEachern, set up by some great corner work from Trudel.
Entering the Third the score was 3-3, but this time it was the Raptors turn to take the lead. MacEachern picked up his hattrick goal with a beauty tape to tape pass, after Lloyd-Howe broke free of his check in the corner to fed MacEachern in the high slot.
Exactly one minute later MacEachern returned the favor hitting Lloyd-Howe with a nearly identical feed in the high slot.
GP2 made a push once again but the steady goaltending from Sierra Eagles and the defense getting to loose pucks and clearing the zone, wouldn’t allow GP2 another goal.
From this point GP 2 got into some penalty trouble and the Raptors poured it on with a power play top shelf snipe from Liam Glosser on a nice two way feed from Jayden McQueen and Emma Bellows.
With the 6-3 win the Raptors have 20 points with five games remaining in their season. GP2 has 17 points and only two games remaining in their season. Essentially the Raptors only need to win one of their next five to finish the year off in first regardless of the outcomes of the rest of the leagues final games.
“The team is just getting stronger and stronger as the season goes on. Eagles made a small adjustment to her game in the third and as a result she shut the door on them for another period”. Coach Howe noted after the game. “I was exceptionally pleased with the effort during this game, but the line of Trudel, Lloyd-Howe, and MacEachern was something else. The boys were just clicking, steady movement in the offensive end and jumping in to forecheck as soon as we lost possession. If you don’t have the puck you can’t score.”
