Waking up with the Vets – Oct 16

The Vets came into Friday night’s matchup against the undefeated New Hamburg Firebirds on the back foot. Having a full lineup in junior hockey is somewhat of a rare occurrence but missing five regular and impactful players never makes life easier. That was the situation for the Vets as the list of those not available included Klazer, Noye, Berry, Pelley and Hendry.
Keaghan Brett made his third start of the season having given up just one goal in his first two starts and needed to be sharp early. With shuffled line combinations and a couple unfamiliar faces in the lineup, the Vets did not move the puck well in the early going which led to a number of good looks for the Firebirds. As the period wore on, the Vets were able to find a little bit more jam but it was the Birds that dropped the first marker. In a familiar play, the firebirds were able to spring Zach Mark off of a defensive zone draw for a breakaway as he beat Brett stick side.
New Hamburg held their 1 goal advantage at the end of the 1st and through to the midway point in the second period with the Vets having to kill off a full two minute 5 – 3 powerplay which seemed to spark the Vets. At the 12 minute mark in the 2nd Liam Munro was spotted open in the slot and made no mistake with a bullet to beat Murphy who was stellar throughout.
In spite of a slow start and a shortened bench, the Vets entered the third tied at 1 in a game that could go either way. But, it was the Firebirds that found the net next just over a minute into the final frame when a Jack Thompson shot was able to find the back of the Vets’ net. Down a goal in the third period isn’t where you want to be but it’s a good time to find out what you’re made of and tonight the Vets response, while never flawless, was strong. About 5 minutes after the New Hamburg go-ahead goal, Griffin Sinden made absolutely no mistake off a low feed from Baker. His one timer beating Murphy clean and bringing the Vets square again. As the third period moved on, both sides had chances to break the deadlock but the buzzer would sound sending the game to overtime.
In overtime, both sides continued to trade blows but it was ultimately New Hamburg that found the net as Zach Mark tipped a point shot, beating a screened Brett.
At the end of the day, the Vets depart with some positives and negatives in sight. While they still managed a point, there is still much to improve on as they move through the still very young season.

VIDEO HIGHLITES

Special Congratulations to:
Tyler Magoffin, Connor Stanley and Elliott Yu who played in their first junior game as affiliate players from our local midget team. Both Tyler and Conner held their own tonight and made a very good first impression. Thank you to all three of them and to Woodstock Minor Hockey for allowing them to help us out tonight.

What’s Next:
That’s all for this weekend but we hit the road next weekend as we head to New Hamburg for some revenge on Friday night before travelling to Burford on Saturday night.

Around the Doherty:
The Tavistock Braves took care of the Burford Bulldogs on home ice by a score of 9 – 3 while the Wellesley Applejacks defeated the Norwich Merchants 2 – 1.

Current Standings:

Additional Notes:
The Vets are dawning pink ribbons on their helmets for the month of October in support of Breast Cancer Awareness month. Tonight was Breast Cancer Awareness night. Thank you to all who came out in support.

Ticketing Information:
Fans are asked to get their tickets ahead of time. While we can process tickets at the gate, it will be a delayed process. Purchasing ahead of time ensures that we fulfill our requirements related to contact tracing while also avoiding long lines and delays.

To purchase tickets go to: http://woodstocknavyvets.eventbrite.com
Season tickets (flex passes) are also available at the above web address.