Offensive power, solid defense and hot goaltending have led the Ancaster Minor Atom team to an unbeaten streak of six games. After three consecutive ties, the Avs buried the Orangeville Flyers at home and then took the show on the road to win their next two games.
First, the Avs would weather the Guelph Storm. A checking clinic the previous night provided the inspiration for a hard-hitting game that would make a Don Cherry highlights reel. Ancaster got on the scoreboard first when Travis Legein fed a pass to Erik Fletcher behind the net. Fletcher came around quickly with the wrap-around play, sliding the puck under the pad of a surprised net-minder. The Avs almost went ahead by two, when Robby Pellizzari fired a swift pass out front to Mark Robertson who just missed glove side. Guelph put some pressure on late in the period, but Colin Marley was quick to clear the puck from a dangerous scrum in front of the Avs goal. In a second period dominated by Ancaster, it was Guelph who came away with the equalizer. Dayten Stockford made a nifty move around the defense to get the puck on the stick of John Bulmer, but the goalie came out to take the shot away. More great scoring chances by Robertson, Pellizzari, and Todd Barta were all turned away by the net minder, while the Storm got lucky with a shot through traffic and by Barrett, who was screened on the play. After Guelph went ahead in the third, Robertson tucked the rubber between post and pad from a set up by Pellizzari and Branden Lindley to even the score at two. Kyle Hall came close with a blast from the slot, but the game would end in a tie. Ancaster 2, Guelph 2.
Two nights later, Ancaster visited the St. Catharines Sabres. An early scoring chance for the home team was taken away by Avs goalie Matt Wieske whose butterfly move fooled the shooter. The Sabres were able to get a marker later though to take the early lead. Lindley rushed in and relayed the puck to Bulmer whose shot just deflected off a defenseman. Trevor Viersen stole the puck from an opposing forward, and moved it to Barta whose shot almost fooled the goalie. Barta persisted to even the score early in the second frame when he batted away at his own rebound to finally put it away. Riding the momentum, Ancaster went ahead when Pellizzari took a bad angle shot that hit the roof of the net over the goaltenders shoulder. D.J. Nedelko drew an assist on the play. Matt Cummins was solid on the point to keep pressure on the Sabres for several minutes. Legein made it 3-1 with an unassisted goal from the left of the face-off circle. A strong second period by the Avs was spoiled when the home team scored with just eight seconds left. The Avs managed to hold on to a one goal lead throughout the third but faced a disappointing end when the home team scored with 21 seconds remaining in the game –Wieske had no chance on a shot that somehow found the back of the net through a crowd. Ancaster 2, St. Catharines 2.
Next up for Ancaster was a home and away series against Orangeville. After a 3-3 tie in Orangeville, it seemed that the Avs were struggling to get that one extra goal to net a win. That struggle proved to be over three nights later when Ancaster buried the visiting Flyers by a score of 7-0. Matt Wieske earned the shutout with Branden Lindley, Mark Robertson and Nick McMullen each scoring once, while Robby Pellizzari and Erik Fletcher both took away a pair.
Another showdown with Guelph gave Ancaster the win, in a closely contested game. After two scoreless periods, Pellizzari put the Avs ahead by netting his own rebound, but Guelph would storm back, knotting the score again at one. Pellizzari added another goal to his scoring streak, assisted by Nedelko and Robertson to put his team ahead for good. Sam Walton almost widened the gap with an end-to-end rush but the goalie got a pad out for a good save. Ancaster 2, Guelph 1. With seconds remaining in the game, a Guelph forward earned a two game suspension for taking a run at forward Dayten Stockford, sending him to hospital. Fortunately Stockford was not seriously injured and returned to the line-up.
A mere 24 hours later, the Avs were back on the road to meet Division leaders, the Flamborough Sabres. Logan Barrett was brilliant in net, turning away 25 shots to give his team the 3-2 victory, while Pellizzari amazed fans with his continued scoring ability, adding two more goals for the season, including one shorthanded. With less than two minutes remaining in the third, Todd Barta went on a nice break, shooting high to beat the goalie and give his team the winning goal. Shots on net were 27-11 in favour of Flamborough. Ancaster 3, Flamborough 2.
The coaching staff of Marty Legein, Doug Lindley and Jim Barta now look to keep this Avs team on fire heading into their first tournament this weekend.
