Sep 22, 2013 | kpatey | 822 views
Impressive Debut for Atom Otters
In an impressive season opener, the Huntsville Atom Rep
Otters weathered the “Storm” and came away with a convincing 3-1 victory over
the Haliburton Highland team.
With a capable group of returning players and a collection
of talented new faces, the high-flying Otters tested the Storm goalie early
with a blistering shot from blue-liner Tysen Robb and an exciting end-to-end
rush from line mate Zak Varieur.
The Otters defensive core of Robb, Varieur, Cole Punchard, Gray Patey and Ben Power owned the zone in the first period, allowing goaltender Owen Buczek to save his energy for the acrobatic saves he would be forced to make in the following two periods.
After a scoreless first, it was time for the Otters offense to put their skills to the test against a solid Storm defense. Left-winger Jake Hildebrandt used his fancy footwork to turn the Haliburton defense inside out and create numerous scoring chances for the Huntsville squad.
Late in the second, Otters winger Cameron Adams found himself on the doorstep and bounced a hard shot off the goalie’s pads leading to a juicy rebound for Cole Patey who buried it into the back of the twine to put the Otters on the board. The Otters would hold on to their lead, despite being shorthanded for the final two minutes of the middle frame.
Midway through the third, the Otters got into penalty trouble again and found themselves fighting off a two-man advantage. But thanks to the hard-working trio of Ben Aben, Brayden Holman and Kyle Mattice, and the outstanding work of Buczek between the pipes, the Otters came out unscathed and managed to preserve their one goal lead.
But as the clock ticked down, the Storm came on strong, punishing Buczek with a barrage of shots from every angle. With 3 minutes remaining in the game, the opponents managed to solve the Otters net minder and poked one in to knot the game at one apiece.
Determined to reclaim their lead, the Otters pulled out all the stops. Feisty Otter forwards Logan Therrien and Ryley DiGiacomo battled hard in the corners and the team’s pesky persistence paid off when a scramble in front of the Haliburton net resulted in a goal for Hildebrandt.
In the dying seconds of the game, a Cole Patey breakaway sealed the deal and the Otters skated their way to a 3-1 win.
Next up for the Atom Otters is a tilt with the Mariposa Lightning on Sunday, September 22 in Oakwood. Go Otters!