Jan 24, 2016 | Bruce Schlitt | 268 views
Novice AA Skate To 5-1 Victory in OMHA Playdowns
The Guelph Novice AA Gryphons rebounded from a tough 1-0 loss to the Flamborough Sabres on Tuesday night with strong effort on Saturday in a 5-1 victory over the Halton Hills Thunder.
The Gryphs got on the scoreboard 3:37 into the game as Nathan Schlitt's backhander from the slot gave Guelph a 1-0 lead. Landon Mitchell and Matthew Stam drew assists on the play. 1:22 later, Guelph increased their lead to 2-0 on a solo effort from Koen Smith. The score stood 2-0 after one period of play.
The second period saw no scoring as Guelph did a solid job of killing off four penalties in the period.
With 4:50 left in the game, Caysen Craig found Trenton Harris alone in front and Harris one timed the pass to the back of the net for a 3-0 lead. Oscar Johnson also drew an assist on the play. A minute later Halton Hills scored on the power play to close the gap to 3-1. Then with 2:53 left, Trenton Harris struck again on a wrist shot from the top of the circle on a pass from Oscar Johnson. With just 1:11 left, a Caysen Craig wrist shot was deflected off of Oscar Johnson's upper body into the back of the net to make the final 5-1.
Kurtis Abbey was strong in the nets for Guelph and the defensive group of Nolan Chabot, Hunter Solomon, Zac Conroy, Adam Smith, Noah Milne, and Vincent Piccone did a great job of limiting Halton Hills scoring opportunities.
The Gryphons have a big week ahead of them as they take on the undefeated Orangeville Flyers on Wednesday night before battling the Flamborough Sabres next Saturday.