Pretty, ugly and lucky goals welcome
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The Demaiter Real Estate Inc. Juveniles had a pair of pretty goals Saturday afternoon to go along with an ugly… or even slightly illegal one.
“Yeah, I kicked it in pretty good,” admitted Tillsonburg’s Ryan Cooreman who got his squad on the board with 5.6 seconds remaining in the second period. “Just say it hit my shinpad or something.”
Cooreman wasn’t about to look a gift goal in the mouth, nor will his teammates, who welcome every variety of goal – along with perhaps a couple of lucky ones – to get back into their OMHA BB series against Glanbrook.
“They’re a tough club,” credited Tillsonburg coach Craig Milton, following Saturday’s 8-3 loss at the Kinsmen/Memorial Arena that gave the visitors a 6-0 lead in the eight-point series.
Glanbrook was undefeated in league play, continued Milton, and lost just one game all year.
“What else do you say, right?”
Glanbrook took a 4-0 lead out of a first period Milton characterized as ‘slow and sloppy,’ a goose egg countered by Cooreman’s first of two on the afternoon.
Gary King scored the Demaiter Real Estate Inc. juveniles’ second at the 3:25 mark of the third, essentially off the faceoff from Glanbrook’s fifth of the day. King gained some room to work with via a nifty move at the blueline, cutting back toward the centre of the ice before finding the back of the net with a shot snapped to the left (stick) side.
Cooreman rounded Tillsonburg scoring with a strong drive outside along the right wing, cutting back to the net before roofing his second, and his team’s third of the game.
“Just drove hard, saw I had some space,” he recalled. “I knew he (the Glanbrook goalie) would drop, so I’d have to get it up to the top.
“Didn’t get it up as high as I wanted, but it went in.”
King, who along with captain Josh Soares, drew assists on Cooreman’s first goal, added a helper on his second, to round a three-point outing.
Jamie Vandehei had a hat-trick and an assist to pace a balanced Glanbrook attack, with also featured goals from Tysen Suneson, Matt Kennedy, Quinton Gardiner and Brendan Vizzari.
Glanbrook opened the series with a 10-1 victory in Tillsonburg, taking a 4-0 lead at home with an 8-1 win.
“They’re a good team,” summed up Soares. “We have to play harder than we did, more disciplined and better overall.
“All you can do against a team like that is play hard, give your best effort and see what happens.”
The Demaiter juveniles need to play together a little more, added Tillsonburg’s Derrick Sweazey, keep their collective head in the game, and be more aggressive while remaining disciplined and staying out of the penalty box.
“I think that covers everything,” he concluded.