Danny (and Pepsi) fuel Almaguin...
On Saturday February 18th the
Midget LL Ice Devils travelled to Nobel to take part in the first (and hopefully
annual) Muskoka – Parry Sound Local League Outdoor Classic vs Parry Sound 1 in
what kicked off a 7 games in 7 days stretch for the team.
Despite some warmer than hoped for weather the game was a rousing success as both teams battled hard. A hard working Noah Haggart-Emma Story-Colter Beally shift saw Almaguin’s Haggart rewarded with the game’s opening goal, but Parry Sound were able to take advantage of a somewhat short-handed Ice Devils squad and score eight unanswered and skate away win the 8-1 win.
Fresh off the outdoor game, the team headed to Orillia for the Canadian Tire Festival, taking on the Georgina Blaze in their first tournament game. Georgina stuck first in the final minute of the opening period, but Sundridge native Jeremiah Ardiel evened things up with just over four minutes remaining in the second. A late second period and three third period Blaze goals were more than enough as Georgina handed Almaguin a 5-1 loss.
Delayed by more than an hour, the Ice Devils second game did not get started until after 9:00 PM on Sunday and the long day of travel may have played a part as Almaguin came up just short, losing 4-2 to a talented Midland Steve’s Bobcat team. Following three straight Midland first period goals, Jeremiah Ardiel, with his 2nd of the tournament got the attempted comeback going with a beautiful shorthanded goal and another Sundridge-ite, Emma Story added a tally of her own midway through the third.
Almaguin’s final game of the festival saw them head to the Mnjikaning Sports Complex for a date with the Beeton Stingers and some line-up adjustments paid off as the newly formed Danny Thomas-Owen Adams-Abby Calarco trio led the Ice Devils to a much deserved 4-1 victory. Emma Story continued her successful weekend with her second goal of the tournament while June Ardiel, with his third of the weekend and Owen Adams and Danny Thomas each with their first of the season rounded out the scoring for Almaguin. Calarco picked up the assist on Adams’ goal for her first Midget point.
Another weekend, another tournament. Friday February 24th brought the first game of the 2nd annual Shamrock Challenge in Parry Sound and the Midget LL team looked to continue the strong play they had vs Beeton as they tangled with the Aurora Tigers. A fast start on a pair of goals by Jeremiah Ardiel and singles from Noah Haggart and Dennis Luckasavitch saw Almaguin jump out to a commanding 4-1 lead heading to the third period of play. Up 4-2 with under five minutes to play, Almaguin ran into some penalty trouble as the five-some of Dennis Luckasavitch, Noah Haggart, Sabastian Patterson, Aidan Carleton and Riley Dunn all found themselves in the box at once with just two minutes to play in the game and Aurora completed the comeback, netting the winner in the final minute of the contest.
What a difference a day can make as Almaguin came out strong on Saturday with back-to-back 3-2 wins over the Kent Cobras and Parry Sound 1 Shamrocks. Ice Devil’s spark plug Danny Thomas got the day going vs Kent with a diving goal to open the scoring and Noah Haggart and Colter Beally added one apiece. The final round robin game vs league rivals, Parry Sound was a high energy, back and forth affair that saw Almaguin battle from behind to earn what may have been their biggest win of the season, so far. Dennis Luckasavitch opened the scoring with his 2nd of the tourney while Noah Haggart added his 3rd of the weekend to go with two assists. With the game tied at 2-2 and Almaguin needing a victory to stay alive in the tournament, Danny Thomas struck again with just 36 seconds remaining to give the Ice Devils the win. Unfortunately for the team, they would not advance to Sunday’s semifinals as Friday’s heartbreaking loss would come back to haunt them and Aurora would win the tie-breaking procedure and advance. Almaguin MVP's for the 3 games were Jeremiah Ardiel (Game #1), Riley Dunn (Game #2) and Danny "Pepsi" Thomas (Game #3).