SMHA AA Weekly: Warriors get the split

By: Michael Willoughby

The Stratford AA Warriors posted a similar split in their results over the past week of ALLIANCE AA/A regular-season play.

Stratford U18 played on Oct. 17 against the Cambridge Hawks and on Oct. 18 against the Woodstock Jr. Navy Vets.

Against Cambridge at the Stratford Rotary Complex, the Hawks struck first in the opening period before the Warriors responded with over five minutes remaining. Stratford took the lead 37 seconds into the second period and added to it with 3:40 left in the period.

Cambridge closed the gap to within a goal at 5:36 into the third period, but the Warriors poured on three more in a span of 2:24 to put the game away in a 6-2 win, putting Stratford at a .500 mark.

At the Reeves Community Centre in Woodstock, the Warriors opened the scoring with a lone goal 54 seconds into the first period. In the second period, Woodstock tied the game with 7:05 left in the middle frame. The home side took the lead 4:31 into the third, but the Warriors tied it at the midway mark of the final frame. Woodstock scored late with under five minutes left, giving the Warriors their third loss of the season.

The U18 Warriors play their only game of the week at the Rotary Complex against the Kitchener Jr. Rangers on Oct. 24.

The U16 Warriors played three games in under a week, all on home ice at the William Allman Memorial Arena and the Rotary Complex.

Stratford’s homestand began on Oct. 14 at the Allman Arena against the Mount Brydges Cougars.

Cole Morris opened the scoring with under six minutes left in the first period. Early in the second period, the Warriors ended two Cougars’ power plays and doubled their lead on a goal by Liam Kelly with 9:09 left in the middle frame. Stratford endured more time on the penalty kill later in the period, with more success on both occasions as the period drew to a close.

In the third period, the Warriors couldn’t extend their lead and eventually surrendered it when Mount Brydges scored twice late, spoiling a strong defensive effort and an excellent performance by netminder Jake Price and resulting in a 2-2 draw.

On Oct. 17 at the Rotary Complex against the Sarnia Jr. Sting, the visitors took the early lead in the first period on a breakaway goal. Zachary Nicholls tied the game for Stratford with under six minutes left in the first period. The game remained deadlocked until the midway mark of the second period when Sarnia scored twice in over three minutes to take a 3-1 lead.

Stratford pulled one closer early in the third period, with Sam McCarthy scoring at 2:48. But Sarnia restored their two-goal lead for good at 5:52, giving the Warriors a 4-2 defeat.

The U16 Warriors wrapped up their homestand with a late-afternoon matchup with the Jr. Stars at the Allman Arena.

Stratford opened the scoring less than 90 seconds into the game, but St. Thomas tied it over a minute later. St. Thomas took the lead with 6:38 left in the period and held onto the 2-1 lead heading into the third period.

In a wild offensive third period, the Stars extended their lead 62 seconds into the final frame. But the Warriors stormed back with three unanswered goals in less than four minutes courtesy of Kelly, McCarthy and Kesler Carroll. St. Thomas tied the game with 5:59 left, but Carroll replied with the game-winning goal seven seconds after. The Stars fell into late-period trouble and couldn’t muster an equalizer as Stratford ended the homestand on a positive note with a 5-4 win.

After the win, U16 Warriors head coach Jamie Morris praised the team’s efforts following a week of mixed results.

“The team had a good bounce-back effort here after our Saturday game. We kind of talked going from Wednesday to Saturday to Sunday about playing a full 50 minutes, a full third period. Wednesday kind of didn't necessarily get the result we wanted. We felt we played a pretty good game, and it was nice for the boys to bounce back and stick to the systems and trust each other,” Morris said.

Stratford U16 travels to Kitchener on Oct. 23 to face the Jr. Rangers, then returns home to play Kitchener at the Rotary Complex on Oct. 24. On Oct. 25, the team hosts the Woodstock Jr. Navy Vets at the Allman Arena.