Determined to improve after being shut out by Cheektowaga just a few short weeks ago 4-0, the Jamestown Lakers talked about using today’s rematch as a litmus test of their progress. By that measure, the game was a success, although the result was an unsatisfying 3-3 tie.
On Halloween, the Warriors skated to an easy 4-0 victory, but Jamestown has felt much better about their game in the past few weeks. Coming off of two straight wins, the Lakers were excited to see just how they stacked up. Cheektowaga got on the scoreboard first when Landon Bulera skated from behind the net and stuffed the puck past Lakers goaltender, Logan Degnan. They would add to this lead when Troy Normandin fired an uncontested one-timer from between the hashmarks on a Breaden Tuttle pass.
Down 2-0, the Lakers needed to respond. In the locker room ahead of the game, Jamestown spoke of not creating enough traffic and second-chance opportunities in front of the Warrior net the last time they met. When Payton Daniels launched a low wrister at the Cheektowaga ‘tendie, Nash Luther found the rebound and was able to stow it behind the goalie to make the score 2-1. Just 20 seconds later, though, the Warriors again found Normandn in the danger zone in front of Degnan. Again, his one-touch found paydirt, pushing the Laker deficit back to two.
In between periods, the Lakers staff reminded the home squad that “Hockey Defense 101” starts with the chapter on protecting the front of the net. The coaches spoke about the fact that Degnan needs to know his teammates have anyone in front, allowing him to focus on the puck carrier. Fortunately, the Lakers would make the necessary adjustments, and Degnan would be perfect for the rest of the game.
Down two, the Lakers went to work. With the defense starting to get shots through to the goal, the bounces were there to be had. At 10:05 of the second period, blueliner Ben Scott sent an opportunity to the goal. The goalie was up to Scott’s challenge, but was unable to direct the rebound to safety. Luther slammed home his second with some hard work in front. Then, with just two seconds left in the period, Luther would clean up the scraps of a Canyon Johnson snapper to complete the hat trick and knot the game at 3.
The third period saw both teams have chances, but the goalies on both ends stood tall. The Lakers defenders again showed improvement and a willingness to be more physical. Strong play and a thunderous check was delivered by Donavin Brown, who led the team with four defensive takeaways. Likewise, Scott and Kameron Press routinely forced attacking Warriors to the outside with a strong physical presence. Lucas Arnone and Jackson Kresge were able to push the offense with some good puck possession and timely passes.
The Lakers are now undefeated in their last three games, but face a tough challenge tomorrow morning with a long road game in Rochester at 11:30 AM. The Lakers are a bit banged up, with Gavin Smith having to leave this game with an injury and will have a few out players out due to illness.
For the first 8 minutes of Sunday’s game, the Jamestown Lakers Bantams seemingly couldn’t get anything to go their way. Passing, skating, and puck handling were skills the Lockport Lock Monsters had seemingly hidden away from the visitors. Excuses flew about ceaselessly on the Jamestown bench – long trip, early game, ice conditions, bouncy pucks – but the fact remained that the Lakers made it look like it was the first game of the season, not the eighth. Then, the game pivoted in an instant at the hands of the MWM line (Mikael, Wojotowicz, and Meder), ending in an 8-1 Laker win.
The Lakers literally stumbled and bumbled their way along for the first several minutes of the game. Pucks bounced off sticks, edges caught the ice, and shots went wide by feet, not inches. A display of hockey prowess it was not. Fortunately, in the calm eye of this horrific storm was Jamestown’s goaltender, Stathi Theofilactidis, who stopped all 10 shots fired at him by the home team during the first period. Lockport deserved to be in a much better position at the end of the first than a 0-0 tie, having surrendered only three shots to Jamestown. Theofilactidis left the game after the first period, pushing his season save percentage to 87.8%.
The Lock Monsters finally found the back of the net early in the second on a goal by Reed Garlock. Down one, the Lakers badly needed a spark. Just then, the line of Mikael Anderson, Kyler Wojotowicz, and Payton Meder brought out a blow torch. The line took to the ice about a minute after the Lock Monster’s goal, and by the time they returned, the score was 3-1 Jamestown and the Lakers would never look back. Anderson got the party started off of a Wojotowicz feed at 11:18. Anderson would pop his second about 30 seconds later. Before the players on the bench even sat back down, Meder would assist on a Wojtowicz goal. After that shift, the momentum had totally swung – the Lakers played with more confidence and a much steadier hand. A minute after the MWM line smashed open the locks, Nash Luther would add another from his linemates, Izak Wojcinski and Canyon Johnson. The Lakers pushed the lead to 5-1 as Anderson secured the hat trick on a partial breakaway from Vinnie Clemente.
The Lakers defense was especially strong in this game. Donavin Brown used his long stick to lead the team in defensive stops, and Clemente and Kameron Press continued to develop their gritty game, consistently winning battles along the walls. Lucas Arnone used his speed to turn defensive stops into offensive opportunities.
Entering the third period, the Lakers talked about continuing to get pucks to the net. The line of Luther, Johnson, and Wojcinski did just that, adding three more tallies to the scoreboard. Luther found his target from Wojtowicz just seven seconds into a man-advantage. Johnson would then add two of his own, the first aided by the defensive pairing of Arnone and Clemente and the second from Luther.
The Lakers (3-4-1), winners of two straight games, have a busy weekend ahead of them. They will try to avenge a 4-0 Halloween loss as they host Cheektowaga on Saturday morning at 11:30. They then will travel to Rochester on Sunday to face the Junior Amerks, whom they tied 3-3 earlier in the season. The puck will drop at 11:30 AM in the Flower City.
On Sunday, November 7, the Jamestown Lakers returned to home ice mired in a four-game losing streak to face a Tricounty team that, over the years, has been the Achilles Heel of the Pearl City squad. All week in practice, the Lakers worked on raising their compete level. Those efforts paid off as the Lakers skated to a convincing 5-1 state qualifying victory at the Northwest Arena.
The Lakers have struggled to get off to good starts in many games this season, but this game broke with that trend. The white-clad Jamestowners drew first blood before many of the fans in the stands had even settled into their seats. Just minutes before the game, Canyon Johnson had a chat with the Laker coaches about getting his game offensive game going. It didn’t take long for him to keep his promise. Nash Luther used a strong stick lift of the Eagle defenseman in the offensive zone to acquire possession. He then quickly found Johnson driving the net for the one-timer directly in front of the Tricounty net for the lead 21 seconds into the game. Johnson’s first goal of the season gave the Lakers a much-needed boost of confidence.
Luther Finds Johnson for His First of the Year
That lead did not last very long, however. A turnover and bad line change by the Lakers combined to allow Brockport’s Johnathan Esposito to lead 2 on 1. Esposito beat Laker starter Stathi Theofilactidis high on the far side.
Bad Change Creates Trouble
The Lakers were undaunted. As it turned out, this was the only time the Eagles would find the back of the net against the Lakers. Theofilactidis made a few huge saves before exiting the game midway through the second period.
Stathi on the Stop
The Lakers tightened up their game after the goal and controlled much of the play for the final six minutes of the period with most of the offense coming from the blueline. In fact, the Lakers ended the period with nine shots, 6 by defensemen. That same blueline corps took great pride in their defensive responsibilities as well. A perfect example of how to play positional defense was provided by Ben Scott.
Scott with Perfect Body Postion
Forward Mikael Anderson reminded the team that the goal of the week was to increase the grittiness and compete level with this nice hit that halted a sure breakout and resulted in a loose puck heading towards the Tricounty net.
Anderson Gets Physical
That play was followed up by this solid Carson Winsor forecheck that resulted in a turnover and scoring opportunity.
Winsor on the Forecheck
Heading into the second, the Lakers kept the accelerator to the floor. This was evidenced by Gavin Smith, who repeatedly used his high effort and skating ability to give the visitors fits. On the Lakers’ second goal, Smith caught a player from behind, won a battle in front of the Jamestown bench, emerged with the puck, and sent Luther in alone for the finish and eventual game-winner. Smith’s feet were a blur all afternoon and he was called out by his coaches and applauded by teammates in the locker room after the game for his high-octane effort.
Smith Causes Turnover, Leads to Luther Goal
Less than a minute later, Theo Singleton read the play from his defensive position and jumped up to halt a breakout. Anderson found the loose puck and found Luther streaking through the Tricounty defense. Luther would go five-hole before the Eagle goaltender, Liam Magri, could react.
Luther from Anderson and Singleton
The Lakers’ defense continued to turn defense into offense. Donavin Brown, straight off a state-qualifying cross country victory by his Southwestern Trojans, turned a defensive stop into an offensive attack. When their blueliners are a threat, the Lakers become a multifaceted team that is very hard to stop.
Brown Goes From “D” to “O”
The Lakers would push the lead to three when Kyler Wojotowicz drove into the Eagles’ zone. Tricounty’s defense halted the attack with a good stick check, but Payton Meder, trailing in support of Wojotowicz, found the biscuit and slammed home her first of the year and a 4-1 lead.
Meder Nets Her First
Kameron Press’ perfect breakout play late in the second shows just how dangerous a good passing can be. Generating offense from his own zone, Press sends the forwards away for a prime scoring chance.
Press Starts the Breakout
Smith kept the fireworks coming late in the second when he used a beautiful move on a lonely Tricountry backstop. His success created a 3 on 0. While the Lakers failed to find the net on the play, it shows again how Smith’s game on this day created a myriad of chances.
3-0 Lead by Smith
With a 4-1 lead entering the final period, the Lakers took their traditional stance that they would continue to play as if the score were tied 0-0. Hometown tendie, Logan Degnan, stood tall when the Eagles did get a dangerous glimpse at the net.
Degnan on the Stop
The Lakers pushed the score to 5-1 on a highlight reel goal in which Nash Luther broke into the Tricounty zone, drew the defense, and found a wide-open Anderson for his second of the season.
Luther to Anderson – 5-1
Everyone wearing white contributed to the victory in this game. With his teammates cheering him on from the bench, Izak Wojcinski reminded the Lakers that hard work pays off by winning a neutral zone battle despite being outmanned. On the bench, several Lakers correctly pointed out that no one works as consistently hard as #84.
Wojcinski Goes to Work
With the Eagles making a late charge, it was time for Degnan to put on a show. And, did he ever! Degnan made several important glove saves in the final few minutes to secure the win. He also rescued his teammates a time or two from misplays.
Degnan Saves His Teammates
The dynamic duo of Theofilatidis and Degnan are greatly appreciated by their teammates. In the final minute, the Lakers did not like the Eagles’ aggressive digging in the crease after the whistle and a minor tussle broke out. Two Lakers would head to the box for protecting their goaltender.
Protecting the Goaltender
However, Jamestown would kill the resulting two-man advantage and preserve the 5-1 score for the win. As the final buzzer sounded, Jamestown spilled onto the ice from both bench doors and the penalty box to swarm Degnan.
The Final Buzzer: Lakers Coming From Everywhere!
The win pushed the Lakers (2-4-1) to 1-1 in “Q games” that count for state qualifiers. They will head back on the road on Sunday with a 10:45 start at the beautiful Cornerstone Ice Arena in Lockport. They will look to keep building on team speed and compete level in practice this week.
The Jamestown Lakers finished the final weekend of October winless after a 4-0 loss to the Cheektowaga Warriors in that Buffalo suburb on Halloween morning. Disappointed in Saturday’s effort, the team talked about increasing their intensity and compete level prior to the opening faceoff. While the Lakers did in fact play a more aggressive game, the end result was the same, pushing the Lakers overall record to 1-4-1.
Goaltender Stathi Theofilactidis went the distance in this one, turning aside 26 of the 30 Warrior shots. That moves his season save percentage to a healthy 86.2%. However, the Cheektowaga goaltender wore his Dominik Hasek costume for All Hallow’s Eve and stopped all 20 Jamestown shots enroute to the shutout. Nash Luther led the Lakers with four shots.
Defensively, the Lakers showed more fight in their game, especially in battles for the prime area in of Theofilactidis. Jackson Kresge drew two penalties and took one other after a particularly feisty exchange. Likewise, Donavin Brown used his long frame to his advantage for a nice hit, and Vinny Clemente played upped his usual gritty style of play. It is this sandpaper that the Lakers are going to need moving forward as they have been too willing to share space with the opposition in the d-zone as of late.
Offensively, the Lakers took 20 shots, but most of those were of the one-and-done variety rather than coming off of sustained pressure and rebounds. Without generating bounces of the tendies’ pillows, any team will find it tough to score at the Bantam A level.
Jamestown will return to the friendly confines of Northwest Arena on Sunday afternoon at 3:30 with a state qualifying game against always-strong Tri-County.
Jamestown Lakers 07 Blog 