Schedule & Results, Bantam AE, U15, 2011-2012 (Petrolia Minor Hockey)

The Oilers took the ice to match up against the Jr. Stars from St. Thomas.  Early on in the 1st period it was evident that the Stars were a very fast team.  This team speed kept the Oilers from their normal forecheck style of play.  The Oilers worked hard but were challenged on every level during this game.
The Stars dominated the play in the first period and were rewarded for their efforts with a goal.  The Oilers started to get things figured out with moving the puck d-d and up the weak side of the ice to counter the strong forechecking stars.
This game saw a few more penalties than what the Oilers are used to, but it is the St. Thomas Stars we are talking about so there should be no surprise as there is no love lost between these two sides.
The Oilers had worked on some down low passing in practice this past week and it showed in this game as numerous times forwards worked the puck back and forth in the offensive zone and gained some nice scoring chances from this work.  Note:  A few more passes to the d-men would have also provided scoring chances.  This point was discussed and a few chances came of this strategy.  Another issue was turning the puck over just inside the offensive zone.  2X the puck was turned over just inside the blueline and resulted in goals for the Stars.
The Oilers tallied a late shorthanded goal with Spencer Burden stealing a pass from the goalie to his defenceman and snapping the shutout.

This game was a good eye opener for the guys and will help the team re-focus going forward.  The Bantam AE squad has a lot of games in the next 3 weeks with 2 tournaments and a number of league games.  Get lots of sleep, show up on time and be ready to play.  This should be a tonne of fun.