Jan 29, 2018 | Scott Biser | 263 views
Atom AA Remain Undefeated in OMHA Qualifying Round
The Guelph Gryphon Atom AA's used a four goal third period to pull away from the Brampton 45's and earn a 7-2 road victory on Monday night to run their record to 4-0 in OMHA Qualifying.
After battling through the snow and traffic to get to Brampton, the Gryphons endured a sloppy first period before finding their legs. The 45's struck first to take an early 1-0 lead at 2:50 of the opening frame. But the Gryphons answered back with 2:45 left in the period when Noah Savery slammed a shot from the blueline that was stopped but Tanner Bothwell was there to scoop up the rebound and toss it into the yawning cage. The score stood 1-1 after one period of play.
25 seconds into the second period, Tanner Bothwell fed Max Grimwood at the point and Grimwood ripped a drive thru the goalie's five hole to put Guelph up 2-1. Then with just 42 seconds remaining in the middle frame, Olan Norton worked the puck to Landon Mitchell and Mitchell put it home for a 3-1 lead after two periods of play.
A four goal third period for the Gryphies put the game out of reach. 1:18 into the third period while on the power play, Mitchell fed Oscar Johnson and Johson drove the net and backhanded it up over the Brampton goalie to make the score 4-1 in favour of Guelph. With 8:47 left, Brampton tallied to cut the lead to 4-2 but just twelve seconds later, Landon Mitchell converted on a breakaway to restore the three goal lead. 2:57 later, Mitchell worked the puck to Olan Norton and Norton made no mistake to bury the puck and increase the Guelph lead to 6-2. After several more Brampton penalties, Adam Smith drove in the final dagger with one second left when he ripped a drive by the Brampton netminder to make the final 7-2.
Ale Gruosso picked up the win for the Gryphons.
Guelph now sports a 4-0-0 record as they head to Burlington for a critical match up with the Eagles Gold this Thursday. Burlington currently holds a 3-1 record and sits in second place in the division.