The Junior B game that had been scheduled to be played on Tuesday December 14th at the Shores Recreation Centre against Listowell has officially been postponed. Again, this is due to the ice shortage in Lambton Shores because of the construction delays to the arena in Thedford. The game scheduled for Saturday December 18th at the Shores Recreation Centre against Chatham will be the Teddy Bear Toss and Can Goods Collection night for the Contact House and Rotary Club. Everyone bringing a new stuffed animal and/or Can Goods will be admitted free. We hope to see a good fan turnout on the 18th of December to help support the causes and to cheer on the team.
Last Thursday night the Predators played the Sarnia Legionnaires at the Brock Street arena. They played well during the first period and held a 9 - 8 advantage in shots on goal. Sarnia jumped into the lead at 13:07 and then made it 2 - 0 thirty one seconds later. It lit the fire under the Predators as they scored to close the gap twenty seven seconds later. They then tied the game making it 2 - 2 on a power play goal at 19:17 of the first period. The Rupert brothers and Kevin Raine who had been away from the team playing with the London Knights were back with Predators and factored in the scoring. Ryan Rupert scored the first goal as Kevin Raine and Adam Arseneault assisted. Then it was Matt Rupert who scored on the power play to tie the game with Kalvin Thornton and Dan Morin being credited with the assists.
Unfortunately for the Predator fans in attendance the Legionnaires more than doubled the Predators shots in the second period and scored 3 unanswered goals to take a 5 - 2 lead into the third period. They widened the gap to 6 - 2 early in the third period before the Predators managed to score again. It was at 7:02 when they capitalized on a power play again. Ryan Rupert got the counter when Matt Rupert and James Pursell assisted. Sarnia then scored at 8:53 in the period to put the game out of reach and added two more goals later in the game to close out the scoring and make the final 9 - 3.
Last Saturday night saw the Predators hosting the Chatham Maroons. The first period was fairly even but the Maroons held a 3 - 1 lead by the end of it with two of their goals being scored on power plays. The Predators goal came after goalie Sean Parker cleared a puck to defence man Dan Morin. The two earned assists when Dan Morin then hit Brendan Merritt with a long pass and he managed to beat the Maroon goalie with his shot. The teams traded goals in the second period. Chatham scored theirs early on another power play at 3:33. It wasn’t until 19:08 that the Predators got their goal. The teams were at even strength when Matt Rupert got the goal with James Pursell and Ryan Rupert assisting.
Stick penalties were the order of the day during the first two periods. Of the 14 penalties assessed in the first two frames the Predators were given 9 to the 5 given to the Maroons. 6 of the 9 were for slashing and another was for crosschecking. The imbalance annoyed the Predator coaching staff and it resulted in a discussion with the games officials. Unfortunately 3 of the 4 Maroon goals were scored on their power plays. At 3:54 of the third period the Maroons extended their lead with another power play goal. The Predators then closed the gap at 5:05 with a power play goal of their own. Cam Downie beat the Chatham goalie with assists going to Brendan Merritt and Brendon Heffernan to make the score 5 - 3.
The Predators then pulled to within one goal at 7:18 with Corbin Bean getting the counter. Brendan Merritt assisted giving him 3 points on the night in the scoring race. Fights and disruptions then dominated and several players from each team were sent to their dressing rooms. The Maroons managed two more goals to make the final score 7 - 4.
The Predators will have played Strathroy in the Dorchester arena Tuesday night before getting ready for their weekend encounters. They travel to St. Marys for a Friday night game before hosting Leamington on Saturday December 11th at the Shores Recreation Centre.
