The SCTA skated to a 7-5 victory over the ETA in the annual OMHA Midget all star game.
The game was an entertaining, fast paced physical affair with players on both teams displaying their skills. AlexBulanov (Ajax-Pickering Raiders) set the tone early with a crunching open ice hit 10 seconds into the game. The SCTA hit the scoreboard first at 18:30 when they created an ETA turnover at the blue line. The SCTA carried the play early but the ETA rebounded and tied the game at 15:45 of the 1st when Colin Elliott (Central Ontario Wolves) scored after receiving a breakaway pass from Nick Kirby-Palliser (Quinte Red Devils) and Julien Jacob (Clarington Toros). The SCTA restored their lead at 12:41 when they scored on a bullet shot just inside the post. The ETA knotted the score at 2-2 at the 6:49 mark when Steve Whittle (York Simcoe Express) stole the puck at the offensive blueline and beat the goaltender with a nice shot to the top corner.
ETA goaltender Brandon Heaslip (Kingston Jr. Frontenacs) made an excellent save early in the second period on a 3 on 2 SCTA rush. The ETA gained the lead when Miles Perry (Barrie Jr. Colts) scored on an end to end rush. Alex Bulanov earned an assist on the goal. Another good SCTA forecheck resulted in a goal at 13:51 to tie the game at 3-3. The SCTA jumped back into the lead at 10:10 on a screen shot from just inside the blueline, but just 31 seconds later the ETA replied following a goal mouth scramble when Colin Elliott notched his second with assists from Ben Reeves (Markham Waxers) and Jonathon Harrison (Central Ontario Wolves). The SCTA went back up by a goal to 5-4 when they scored their second goal on a screen shot from the point.
The SCTA produced the first 2 goal lead in the game when they scored early in the 3rd period at 18:02 on an across crease tip in. The ETA cut the deficit to one goal with 6:31 remaining when Aidan DesForges (Barrie Jr. Colts) scored after receiving a nice pass from Matt McCullough at 6:31. The SCTA withstood the ETA’s pressure to tie the game and put it out of reach with an empty net goal with 44 seconds remaining to secure a 7-5 victory.
The ETA wishes to thank all of the players for their participation, coaches Joey Rampton and Jim Stewart (Barrie Jr. Colts), the SCTA for hosting the event and the OMHA for their support.
Click here for a photo of Team ETA. OMHA Midget All Star Team December 2018