Monday, October 11, 2010

Saints 18U Too Much for Hamilton

The Saints 18U defeated the Hamilton Jr. Bulldogs 4-1 today at the Buffalo Regals Columbus Day Tournament.  Highlighting the game was a gutsy effort by 8 players who, due to a scheduling conflict with soccer and golf, were forced to play the last 25 minutes of the game.  Matt Benedict put the Saints on the board early, and Nick Smith padded the lead before the first half ended.  When the second half started, the Saints took the ice with 8 players and 2 goaltenders.  Hamilton finally found the net with 10 minutes left in the game, but Matt Benedict added his second of the game to push the lead to 3-1.  Tommy Mediak capped off the game with a great individual effort to finish the scoring at 4-1.  Peter Dudek was strong with 18 saves in the game. 

The Saints will face the Amherst 18U AAA on Thursday, Oct. 14.  The puck drops at 8:50pm at the Northtown Center.

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Saints Get Back on Track Defeating OHA 2-1

It was a dogfight from start to finish, but the Saints found a way to get it done en route to a 2-1 victory over Ontario Hockey Academy.  Ontario struck first scoring an early shorthanded goal, but Brandon Mueller shut the door from that point forward.  Charlie Stein tied teh game when he capitalized on an OHA turnover.  Tom Mediak netted the gamewinner when he buried a rebound on a goalmouth scramble.  Mueller finised the game with 24 saves, many of them outstanding. 

The victory improves the Saints record to 11-5-2 on the season.

Saints 18U Continue Slide against #14 Pittsburgh Hornets

In game two of the weekend, the Saints ran into the Pittsburgh Hornets, the #14 ranked team in the United States.  The Hornets took control of the scoreboard jumping out to a 2-0 lead, but a Wilson Vershay power play goal cut the lead in half.  The Hornets scored again to make it 3-1, but the Saints continued to pressure the Hornets goaltender.  Everyone in the rink thought the lead was cut to one, but the Hornets goaltender stole one, and in typical hockey fashion, the puck moved to the other end of the rink and in the back of the net to give the Hornets a 4-1 lead.  The Saints continued to pressure, but the Hornets took advantage of mistakes to extend their lead and finish the scoring at 6-1.  Peter Dudek finished the game with 28 saves.

The Saints look to rebound this afternoon against Ontario Hockey Academy.

Saints 18U fall to #2 London Jr. Knights

The Saints 18U faced off against the London Jr. Knights (ranked #2 in Ontario) in game 1 of the Buffalo Regals Columbus Day tournament, and lost 3-2.  Frustrated by turnovers on sloppy play, the Saints spotted the Knights a 3-0 lead before finally breaking through when James Randaccio scored on a quick rebound in front.  Nick Smith put the game within reach on a beautiful passing combination from Charlie Stein and Lucas Walsh, but the Saints were never able to get the equalizer.  Brandon Mueller finished the game with 17 saves.

The Saints face the Pittsburgh Hornets in the morning.

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Recap From Pittsburgh

Both Saints midget teams traveled to Pittsburgh this past weekend for the Pittsburgh Viper Stars Shootout.  The 18U team finished the weekend at 3-2 after falling in the finals while the 16U team finished 1-2-1 on the weekend. 

18U Scores
Saints 6, Pittsburgh Predators 1
Phantom Fireworks 6, Saints 2
Saints 5, Team Cleveland 2
Saints 3, Phantom Fireworks 2 (OT)    Semis
Delaware 4, Saints 1     Finals

16U Scores
Pittsburgh Viper Stars 8, Saints 1
Saints 2, Southern Flyers 2
Ashburn Extreme 8, Saints 1
Saints 1, West Seneca 0