U16 Lakers drop key game to the London Jr. Knights on home ice

The Huron-Perth U16 Lakers AAA hosted the London Jr. Knights at the Stratford Rotary Complex in the battle for top spot in the U16 ALLIANCE league as the regular season heads to its final stretch on Feb. 1.

London opened the scoring with 3:09 left in the first period. Through 30 minutes of play, the Lakers had several powerplay opportunities and pressed on for an equalizer, but were unable to break through.

The visitors extended their lead 3:48 into the third period and put the game out of reach with 5:40 remaining. Declan McCotter scored his 27th of the season from Callum Brooks and Wyatt Finch 19 seconds later, but the offence couldn’t muster a late-game comeback as they lost 3-1.

Huron-Perth head coach Jason Brooks says the team struggled to execute its game plan, which contributed to the outcome.

“They have three lines and a very high-power offensive team. They maintain puck possession. They got size, they're physical, they're good skaters, so it was definitely a test and a challenge. I thought we battled, to be going down or going into the third down, when nothing, you know, you're still in the game, you still have a chance,” Brooks said.

“Unfortunately, we gave up a couple of those goals in the third that take the wind out of your sails a little bit. But we were able to get the one back. And unfortunately, we had some possession time after we didn't get the puck to the net and get the balance we needed to, you know, post within one. But I'm not disappointed in the effort. I thought our effort was there. I'll take that kind of effort.”

Team captain Sullivan Kipfer says the team missed opportunities to capitalize on the equalizer and needs to improve.

“I think overall, we battled right till the end. We just had a slow start coming out in the first, and it ended up biting us in the back in the end. But I think we had our chances and just needed to learn how to close them out. If we finished a couple of those, chances would have been a different game,” Kipfer said.

Despite the loss, Lakers netminder Rylan Da Costa had a solid performance and kept the team in contention. Brooks and Kipfer commended Da Costa’s performance in the crease.

“Rylan gives us a chance every time he's in the net, and no question, he did that tonight. He made some big stops, kept us in that game,” Brooks said.

“Ry (Rylan) played outstanding. He kept us in the whole time. That was the only reason we kept it so close,” Kipfer said.

The Lakers continue their regular-season-closing homestand with two games this coming weekend. They welcome the Sun County Panthers into the Rotary Complex on Feb. 6 at 8:45 p.m. and on Feb. 8 they host the Brantford 99ers in their matinée game at 3:45 p.m.