BRANTFORD— You can see that burning determination whenever Brantford 99ers AAA Major Peewee forward Averee Sault steps on the ice.
Whether it’s throwing a thunderous body check, setting up a teammate for a goal or skating in on goal, Sault always plays with a fiery passion.
Brantford 99ers Major Pee Wee forward Averee Sault had two assists during their 4-1 playoff series opening win against Cambridge.
“Averee is a strong kid,” Brantford coach Stephen Kersey said. “He has nice hands and is the complete package.”
Proving to be clutch, Sault has been dominating during Brantford’s opening-round playoff series which has seen them win the first two games by 5-1 and 4-1 scores in what is a best of five against the Cambridge Hawks.
“This is my third year playing in Brantford and I love it,” Sault said. “I consider myself a playmaker.” When asked about future hockey goals Sault quickly added, “To get drafted into the OHL then the NHL. I still have to work at seeing the play better and my speed.”
When this first-round series opened up on Friday, January 31st, Sault’s playmaking ability was on full display as he wowed the Wayne Gretzky Sports Centre fans when 23 seconds into regulation, Sault set up Quinn Lessif for the 1-0 lead.
Continuing to press, the 99ers had more reason to celebrate as this time it was Camron Hankai scoring as Brantford doubled their lead only 41 seconds into regulation.
“We were moving the puck and had a good for-check,” Sault said. “It was very important getting those goals right off the bat.”
Brantford, who had all sorts of opportunities would get one more as Brady Marr rifled one home from the slot with Hankai getting his second point on an assist.
Cambridge came out strong to start the second as they applied some strong pressure before scoring to cut that deficit all be it temporarily to two.
Shortly afterward Brantford grabbed back the momentum when Sault showcased some more of his playmaking skills by skating down to Cambridge’s end before drawing the defenceman and eventually sliding a pass over to Cole Kersey for a tap in and a huge 4-1 lead.
‘I like to set up teammates,” Sault said. “I love playing here. It’s a bit more of a challenge.”
Still showing that hunger, Sault never hesitated in throwing his body and creating quality scoring chances. Though he wasn’t rewarded anymore offensively, Brantford still got one more goal which came in the third when Lessif rifled home his second on a top corner shot.
Riding the momentum of their series-opening win, Brantford closed out the weekend on Sunday with another convincing win to take full control of their best of five with a 2-0 series lead.
