The Red team once again played with grit, determination and always as a team, and it paid off with a 5 – 2 win, our fourth in a row. The standout player of the game today was Brady Thornton, with 2 goals and an assist.
Game recap:
Red Goal #1 – On the first shift of the game, Wright & Todd do a great job wrestling with a Black forward in the Red end. Thornton manages to scoop up the loose puck, move down the boards and scores an unassisted breakaway goal.
Red Goal #2 – on the next shift and right from centre-ice, Schleimer wins the faceoff and quickly moves the puck through both defensemen, and fires a bouncing low shot, scoring an unassisted goal (fourth goal of the season).
Black Goal #1 – near the end of the first period, the Red team was not able to clear the puck from our end, allowing Black to centre the puck to an awaiting player, and a quick tap puts them on the scoreboard.
Black Goal #2 – Near the halfway point of the second, Martin and a Black player collide hard, resulting in a 4 minute penalty to the Black player. Unfortunately Red’s intensity level seems to drop noticeably at this point, and we really couldn’t use the power play to our advantage. Black was able to carry the puck out of their end and score a short-handed, high glove side goal.
Red Goal #3 - Red still was not playing to the best of their potential for the first bit of the third, which resulted in Venning having to make a few great acrobatic saves. Finally, with 7:46 remaining in the third, Pearson manages a shot on net, which goes a bit wide. McMillan intercepts it and a great pass to Bentley allows him to score his first goal of the season.
Red Goal #4 – The last 2 goals were scored in the final 2 minutes. Todd wins a faceoff in the Red end, and Thornton grabs the puck. With Todd waiting, Thornton passes and Todd scores on a breakaway goal (third of the season).
Red Goal #5 – just 20 seconds later, Martin digs deep within a flurry of players to grab the puck in the neutral zone and passes to Thornton, who wastes no time in scoring his fourth of the season.
…a couple of things to mention…
1. A lot of guys are scoring, not just one or two players. This truly is a strong team effort.
2. Many players are logging assists for great passing plays and setting things up. For example, McMillan already has 4 assists in 4 games.
3. Our defense is doing an amazing job of keeping the puck out of our end and passing to an awaiting forward in the neutral zone.
4. Venning continues to stop the impossible shots, and keep us in the game. After 4 games, he has a Goals Against Average of only 2.0 – wow! 
Way to go Red team! Great job!