Warriors stung the Kilty B’s but miscues cost the Warriors in Fort Erie with a 3-2 loss

The Stratford Hunter Steel Warriors played their first cross-conference games of the season against the Hamilton Kilty B's on Oct. 3 and the Fort Erie Meteors on Oct. 4.

On Oct. 2, the Warriors made a move to add depth to the goaltending position by acquiring Noah Bender from the Flint Firebirds of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). The 19-year-old, Waterloo-native was drafted in the 12th round of the 2022 OHL priority selection by the Oshawa Generals.

Bender made his debut between the pipes the next night against the Kilty B's. In a tightly contested matchup, the Warriors beat the Kilty B's 1-0. Bender saved all 13 shots and recorded his first win and shutout as a member of the Warriors. Grady Murphy scored the lone goal late in the second period, his first of the Greater Ontario Hockey League (GOHL).

After the game, Bender was impressed with the defensive effort by his new teammates.

"The boys did a great job tonight clearing everything out in front of me," Bender said. "That always makes my night easier when I can see everything, and when they're just straight-up shots from outside, these are always easier to save than the high percentage."

Murphy says he enjoys playing with linemates Dominic Marshall and Coen Galbraith and hopes to continue the success this season as the team's key specialist line neutralizing the opposition.

"Me and Dominic, we played together in U16, and now U18, and then Coen just fits in good with this play style of ours," Murphy said. "Hopefully, it keeps it up on the ice."

Warriors head coach Dave Williams was pleased with the overall performance. However, he wants to see the team capitalize more on the opportunities in front of the opposition despite the performance from the Hamilton netminder, Kayden Newton.

"I thought we played a pretty solid game. I thought we had some other good scoring opportunities we just didn't capitalize on. I think some of that is a credit to their goaltender. I thought their goaltender had a good effort," Williams said.

"But I thought our first and third periods, we were really after the puck. I thought we got off to a good start tonight. I didn't feel like we'd gotten off to a good start in the first two games here at home, but I thought that was our best start so far. We're moving our feet again on top of pucks. A bit of a nail-biter we had to grind right to the final buzzer to win."

Williams also commented on the performance from the newly acquired netminder, who he said stepped up when needed to in the final period.

"I thought he had a solid game. I know he didn't have a lot of work, but in the third period there, he had a couple big saves there that could have changed the momentum of the game," Williams said.

"I think the group is really confident with the goalie of his ability back there. It probably makes everybody, you know, feel a little more confident on the ice when you know you've got a goaltender of his calibre back there to stop."

Stratford travelled to Fort Erie the following night for their second and final cross-conference game of the week against the Meteors.

Fort Erie struck first at the 7:20 mark of the opening period, but Colin Slattery's second goal of the season tied the game for Stratford less than 90 seconds later. Stratford endured a tough second period and the early stage of the third period, as they conceded two goals on the penalty kill, putting the Warriors at a 3-1 deficit.

Quinn Kipfer scored his second of the season with 2:31 remaining to give the Warriors a chance. But their effort in the closing seconds was not enough as they left the Fort Erie Leisureplex with their first regulation loss since the season opener in London and ended their four-game point streak.

Williams was encouraged despite the loss but noted that the team's game plan needs improvement in both offence and special teams. 

"I liked our start. I liked our first period. We may have ran out a little bit of gas as the game went along, but obviously the special teams were a big difference," Williams said.

"I think we definitely need to be better on both sides of the special teams and five-on-five. We need to do a better job generating offence."

At press time, the Warriors are ranked second-worst in the GOHL on the power play and fifth-worst on the penalty kill. However, the bright spot for the Warriors is their defence and goaltending play, as they have the fewest goals allowed with 15, and tied with Elmira and St. Marys for the lowest goals-against average in the Western Conference at 2.50.

Next up for the Warriors is welcoming the rival Listowel Cyclones at the Allman Arena on Oct. 10 and travelling to Chatham for a big test against the Maroons on Oct. 12.

For Slattery and team captain Haden Frayne, it is about getting better and executing the game plan in the big week ahead of the two crucial games.

“I think us all as a group, we're hoping to put some more goals for the scoreboard,” Slattery said.

“Just got to really stick to our game. We know that every team is going to be a competitive team in this league, and we just got to really, like I said, stick to what we know and just execute well,” Frayne said.