OHSWEKEN – Fans of C-Lax couldn’t skip this game between the Ohsweken Demons and the Southwest Cyclops on Friday, February 5. The opening kicked off with a smoke dance, and continued with “Rookie of the Game” Vaughn Harris, winning the first draw. Possession of the ball was quickly reversed as an interception gave the Cyclops a start.
The Demons are considered to have the top offence in the league, but at the expense of defence. This was obvious in the first few bouts of the game, as Cyclops cutters tore through the centre of the Demons defensive house formation. But, with Gowah Abrams in the net, their shots were effortlessly deflected as the period began to take a turn in the Demons favour.
Demons Captain Tommy Montour got a nice cherry picked break away, and flung the ball to the back of the net on Cyclops goalie Grant Crawley. But, this was just the start. By the end of a nicely played first period, Joe Maracle, Corey Thompson (Demons were shorthanded), and Josh Decker had sunk one goal each, making the game 4‑0.
On a roll at the start of the second, Thompson scored again with one of two assists performed by Harris. Shortly after, Wenster Green sprinted to the Cyclops net ahead of their defence to catch a suicide pass. Green simply turned on his heel and buried the ball just passed Crawley’s glove. After a lot of retaliation showing in their offence, the Cyclops lose the ball to Montour, who snuck another break away goal.
Seeming to realize the scoreboard stood at 7-0, the Cyclops offence started to take advantage of the weaker defence in the Demons. This resulted in a lot of movement by the Cyclops, making it harder for the Demons to keep track of them as the Demons continued to play half man-on-man and half zone defence. This led to a lot of openings in the front of the net, and two goals for the Cyclops. Nearing the end of the period, Spencer Pyke and Cody Ward scored for the Cyclops; and the Demons called for a time out with 13 seconds left, but no dice.
With a win off of the draw in the third period, Chris Attwood scored his first goal with a nice wound up shot taken far out. But, this was returned by two goals by the Cyclops. However, after a lot of aggression by the Demons on defence, the Cyclops seemed less ambitious in regards to fighting for close shot opportunities. This was met with the final goal of the period by Demons Rock Farmer, making the game 9-6.
The final period started off with a lot of fighting for the ball in transition, leaving defence on both sides away from their respective nets. This enabled the Cyclops to take advantage, as they won ball possession and scored their seventh. A penalty was drawn, and the Cyclops scored another with the one man advantage. This started to bring a lot of spectators to the edges of their seats, as the scoreboard showed 9-8.
But, almost as though the near tie was just a teaser, Mike Miller scored his first and Becker scored his second. Sooner rather than later, a beautiful hat trick goal by Thomson connected, after he slithered through Cyclops defence single handedly. Shortly after, Harris shot and scored as well, leaving goal tender Crawley fuming. Two more goals for both sides still didn’t change the Demons lead, and the final score of 14-11 caused a fight initiated by Crawley, who reached out of his crease to knock Montours helmet off. But, both teams still shook hands at the end of the game, and the Demons proved that when playing both ends of the floor, it pays to be an aggressive offender.
