OHSWEKEN – With a slight win 4-3 last Tuesday against St. George in the first game of their playoff series, the Six Nations Bantams showed that they wouldn’t win by just one goal this time, as they shut out and throttled St. George 8-0 on Sunday, Feb. 14.
The bantams first periods usually start out with both teams fighting for puck possession and no goals, but not this game. The bantams tore around St. George, who looked like fawn learning to walk as their puck carrying abilities were far out of practice. The first goal was sunk by Devin Jamieson with a far out slap shot by the middle of the period, assisted by Kevin Hill and Kahner Johnson.
Seeming to think they could easily answer the goal, St. George started to space themselves out for passes. This didn’t do them well though, as the Bantams intercepted several passes and moved through to offence. Setting himself up to be in the right spot at the right time, Bantam Captain Sandy Porter scored twice in 30 seconds before the end of the period, assisted by Darrion White, George Bomberry and Wyatt Williams.
Following with the second period, St. George kept up with the Bantams on defence, but couldn’t connect with one another on offence — taking several unnecessary shots from far out rather than fighting to get to the net. This was likely due to their own malpractice in stick work, as the Bantams simply out maneuvered them and stole the puck. This led to their fourth goal by Rycol Davis, assisted by Reid Bomberry.
Rather than running a play, or setting up for a shot, St. George continued to waste energy by chasing the Bantams. Their response to their own lack of gumption was to resort to aggressive tactics, which landed two from St. George in the box. By the last seconds of the period, a quick break away — without much of a chase — by Devin Jamieson landed yet another goal after a sharp pass from Hill.
The start of the third period rang true that St. George wasn’t going to make a come back, with the scoreboard glowing 5-0, and their offence being stripped of all shot opportunities. Taking advantage early on in the period, Darrion White scored his first, with a pass from Porter from Williams. The work of Goalie Caleb Martin as well was incredibly well-seasoned, as he seemed to know exactly what to do in every situation that had the puck in his midst.
The same couldn’t be said for St. George goalie Bryce Hunt-Parker, who seemed to let the scoreboard get to his head. This led to another goal by Porter with a lifted shot, assisted by Williams and White. Not even 40 seconds later the puck stopped several lengths in front of Hunt-Parker, who dove for it. Rather than sliding on the ice, Hunt-Parker laid flat just inches before he could reach the puck, and Porter skated by, taking the puck and putting it into the empty net unassisted.
St. George again responded with aggression and frustration, with cheap shots unseen by the ref. The most obvious retaliation landed more St. George players in the box, but didn’t change the scoreboard.
Finalizing the game 8-0, the Bantams proved that with hard work on offence and a skilled goalie, they’ve become a force steadily moving toward winning this series. Their next game in this series will take place at 8 p.m. Wednesday, February 17.
