SIX NATIONS — The Arrows Express will not have a perfect season this year. After winning their 14th consecutive game of the Jr. A season, 8-6, Wednesday, June 25th, against the St. Catharines Athletics, the Arrows’ prefect season ended Thursday night in at the ILA, at the hands of the Whitby Warriors, 12-8. However, Six Nations got right back in the saddle Sunday night to take an 8-5 decision from the Burlington Chiefs, also at the ILA.
Thursday’s loss did nothing to oust the Arrows from top spot in the 11-team Jr. A standings. As of Tuesday, the Arrows are 15-1-0 for 30 points in 16 games played. In second spot with 26 points is the Brampton Excelsiors, and tied for third are the Peterborough Lakers and the Whitby Warriors, both with 20 points.
Sunday night, the Arrows took a 3-1 first period lead over Burlington on goals scored by Josh Johnson, Quinn Powless and Anthony Patterson. Chiefs’ Danny Lomas scored on a powerplay with Brendan Bomberry off for interference at 12 minutes.
Burlington tied the game by the 8:20 mark of the second, but Bomberry and Jordan Durston made it 5-3. Tyler Albrecht scored the Chiefs’ third powerplay goal at 13:49 before Arrows’ Josh Johnson and Austin Staats ended the second period 7-4 in Six Nations’ favour.
The Chiefs’ Lomas closed the gap to 7-5, 28 seconds into the third period, but Shane Simpson tallied the last goal of the game at 11:08 for the 8-5 Arrows win.
Thursday night, both the Arrows and the Warriors were scoring in bunches. The Warriors surprised the Arrows faithful at the ILA by scoring the first 3 goals of the night but Austin Staats, Jordan Durston and Greg Longboat evaporated the Warriors lead, and Ian Martin and Kason Tarbell gave them a 6-3 lead. Whitby pulled in the last two goals of the period to finish with the Arrows hanging onto a 6-5 first period lead.
Austin Shanks scored two for the Warriors to open the third period and Rylee McKinnon put an 8-6 slant on the score in Whitby’s favour. Shanks added another at 14:14 but Austin Staats brought the Arrows back into the game with a pair of goals scored at 15:08 and 18:59, to end the second period with Whitby holding a 9-8 lead.
The Arrows could not find the net in the third period, but Whitby could and they did it three times before the final buzzer.
Last Wednesday, the Arrows danced with the A’s all night. It was 2-1 for the Athletics after one period with the lone Six Nations goal going to Durston at 6:05.
St Catharines’ Adam Bellamy made it 3-1 at 2:27 of the second frame, but Quinn Powless, Austin Staats and Brendan Bomberry turned the tables two minutes apart and took a 4-3 lead. The A’s tied it at 16:40 but with 25 seconds left on the clock, Staats restored the Arrows’ lead. Staats kept the scoring going early in the third with his third of the game at 2:20,which A’s Eric Fannell answered 33 seconds later. Josh Johnson restored the Arrows’ two goal bulge on a powerplay but Charlie Sheehan pulled the A’s close again at 15:39. Durston put the game out of reach at 18:18. The Arrows outshot the A’s 34-27.
This Friday night the Arrows Express rolls into Barrie. On Sunday, the KW Braves visit the ILA for a 7 pm start. Monday night, it’s off to Peterborough to face the Lakers, leaving one more game in the regular season set for next Thursday, July 11th with the KM Braves.
