Feb 07, 2016 | Steve Fogarty | 604 views
The Second Season Begins
The Grand River Mustangs kicked off the LLFHL playoffs at home on Sunday with an opening round series with the Wilmot Wolverines. With a great crowd cheering on the girls it was time to start the second season.
As the Mustangs haven't played a meaningful game since the Cambridge Tourney, one of the biggest concerns coming into the contest was rust. Well, that concern was laid to rest early on as the home team came out ready to play. The stampede came out in full effect as the line changes were smooth and often, rolling line after line.
The pressure paid off as Duece opened up the scoring with her first of the year with 3 minutes to go in the opening frame. A minute later, Mi added her name to the score sheet as well to give the home town Stangs a 2-0 lead that they would carry into the second.
The second period was a carbon copy of the first, with excellent puck movement and tenacious pressure. With the strong team play came the rewards. Mrs. T scored midway through to bump the lead to 3-0 and Allie The Great scored in the final seconds to make it 4-0. With two picture perfect periods in the books, bring on the third.
The start of the third period brought on a power play for the home team which was more of an advantage for the Wolverines. Time and time again the Mustangs gave up premier scoring opportunities to Wilmot. That being said, it was Ranger time as Sarah stood tall and kept the four goal lead intact. Despite the solid goaltending, with nine minutes to go the Wolverines got on the board to cut the lead to 4-1. The goal was the wake up call the Mustangs needed as they started to get back to their game with more pressure on the fore check and strong puck movement. The girls regained control of the game and held the Wolverines in check to earn the 4-1 win.
Aside from the hiccup to start the third, it was a solid team effort. When you watch a group of girls play for each other, willing to do whatever they can for the team first, it's very impressive. Every girl on this team came to play today and when that happens they are a very dangerous bunch to play against. Well earned MVP honors were nabbed by Allie, she made every shift her best shift, giving it everything she had every time she hit the ice.
The second game of the series is scheduled for 6:30pm Tuesday in Wilmot.