The last team left in minor hockey pressing for an OMHA Championship was in action again this weekend as the Amhesrtburg Juvenile Stars faced off against the King Rebellion in games one and two of the OMHA Finals.
Game one went Saturday afternoon and saw an injury riddled Stars team come out and weather the storm for the first 30 minutes of the game but it was the Rebellion who opened the scoring at the 6:25 minute marker of the 2nd period. The Stars got on the board and tied the game at the 2:08 mark of the 2nd period on the strength of an Ernie Godden Jr. goal but the tie was short lived and the Stars could not hold off a surging Rebellion offense who jumped back in to the lead just a short 27 seconds later at 1:41 minute mark of the second. The stars would gain some confidence heading into the last frame as Brandon Fahringer tied the game at 2 late in the second period. That, however, was the most the stars offense would be able to muster on this day. Giving up 2 goals in the 3rd period, the Stars dropped the opener 4-2. Stars goaltender Jack Langlois had a great performance in net but Coach Dennis Emerson thought the team left a little to be desired, “I thought we came out fast and matched King’s intensity but we just couldn’t get that full game effort,” said Emerson, “I don’t think we did a great job of making things easier on Jack in net,” he added. When asked if the Stars 3rd period lapse is concerning, Coach Emerson rejected the notion, “These players know exactly what it takes to win a Red Hat (OMHA Championship), we have several players who already have one; I know they’ll come out flying tomorrow and I’m certain you will see a different result.”
Some St. Patrick’s day “luck of the Irish” must have fallen on the side of the Stars as it seemed coach Emerson’s proclamation after game one was coming true in game two. After coming out of the penalty box stars Forward Joe Goulawski opened the scoring for the Stars at the 5:24 mark of the 1stperiod, leaving no doubt on his breakaway. Goulawski would keep the stars offense going early in the second period pushing the Stars to a 2-0 lead at the 10:45 mark. With a resilient effort and top notch special teams, the Stars Mike Lenson added the back breaking goal with only 2:32 left in the 3rdperiod to shut out the Rebellion 3-0 in game 2 of the OMHA Finals. Chris Mitre picked up the Win in net and was a key contributor to the overall team success. “Chris was great in net,” said a smiling Coach Emerson. “Our special teams, our goaltending, it was all great. The boys really showed a lot of character in today’s game,” added Dennis. In a game the saw the stars penalized almost 3 times as much as the home team, the special teams really was the difference maker. “We were up 2-0 early in the 3rd on the PK and we had guys diving in front of shots and working extra hard on the back check. We knew on the bench that if we could press to make it 3-0 and not give them any hope, we could pull this off”, said Stars forward Garret Blunt. “I really like the momentum we built up this weekend heading into next weekend at home,” he added.
The Stars are back in action this weekend at the Libro Centre hosting the same Rebellion team on Saturday March 24th at 6:00pm and Sunday March 25th at 1:30pm. No charge to get into the game. Come support your local Juvenile Stars on their quest for the Red Hat