Arrows: setting the bar high for the ‘A’ division

SIX NATIONS – With mutters heard in the stands about the Arrows being the ‘team to play,’ the Arrows had no problem showing the St. Catharines Athletics why they’ve become the ‘team to beat,’ as they throttled them 14-6 on the evening of Monday, July 18.

It wasn’t long into the first period that the Arrows started earning ground on offence and scaring the Athletics on defence. The Arrows defence worked ball carriers incredibly hard and took away passing options by maintaining stick control and interception position. All the Athletics could do in the first period was hope to catch a break away or shoot immediately upon earning possession.

This transitioned well on offence for the Arrows, as Chris Cloutier and Owen MacDonald scored the first two, and Austin Staats scored another two consecutively in less than a minute. But, to top off their assault on the Athletics goalie, Captain Brendan Bomberry scored a hat-trick and one extra in five minutes, making the score 8-3 by the end of the period.

For the second period, the same type of play continued with the Arrows completely controlling the game. By using aggressive defence they made it hard for the Athletics to even want the ball, but they were able to score a couple of power play goals as the Arrows defensemen were a little too aggressive and earned some penalties.

This still didn’t stop the Arrows from continuing their roll on offence however, as MacDonald earned himself a hat-trick with two more goals and another for Bomberry. This was when many spectators seemed to lose interest as the Arrows were making the Athletics look like they couldn’t keep up. By the end of period, MacDonald rushed by the net and scored his third, and so did Cloutier.

But, the Arrows seemed to ease up on the gas in the third period, scoring a quick goal early in the period. It was almost as if the Arrows got bored with game and wanted the Athletics to make it interesting. However, the Athletics simply did not have the offensive power to catch up to the Arrows lead by much; scoring only two in the third.

This made the game 14-6 by the end, and the Arrows walked off the floor with their heads high.

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