The Northview Wildcats finished 3rd this weekend in the Cold Turkey Thanksgiving Tournament after defeating Lake Catholic in the Consolation game 5-1 yesterday morning at Tam-o-Shanter. Overall the Cats won 2 games lost 1 and tied their other contest.
In the 1st game of the Weekend the Cats kicked of their season versus Lake Catholic. The Cats surrender the 1st goal of the season 5 minutes in as a shot from the left circle handcuffed Junior goaltender Austin Gryca and found its way into the net for a 1-0 lead for Lake. The game would remain that way until the 1st minute of the 3rd as Senior forward Ryan Laplante scored to even the game at 1. The Cats would buzz the net for much of the 3rd period but were unable to find the game winner as the 2 teams settled for a 1-1 draw.
That evening the Cats took on St. Thomas from Canada. Laplante got the Cats going again early in this 1. His goal just 1 minute in staked the Cats to a lead they would never relinquish. Dalton Carter scored later in the period on a power play to give the Cats a 2-0 lead after 1. Aaron Booth scored his 1st of the season along with Zach Felser in the 2nd to push the lead to4-0 and Carter would hit once more in the 3rd for a 5-0 lead. The offence was plenty enough for Goaltender Phil Bowles. The Junior turned aside all 18 shots he face for his 1st career shutout and got the Cats into the win column for the 1st time this season.
The next evening the Cats drew the marquee game against state power St. Edwards. They also needed to earn a point and a half in the modified scoring system to advance to the Championship game on Sunday. Unfortunately the game did not go as planned. Just 20 seconds in the Eagles scored for a 1-0 lead. They would make it 2-0 near the 10 minute mark on a power play goal before Nolan Culver brought the Cats back to within 1 with a Power play goal of his own. St. Eds would strike for 2 more quick goals just over a minute apart in the 2nd for a 4 to 1 lead. Aaron Booths pretty individual effort brought the Cats back to a 2 goal margin, however Eds would answer for a 5-2 lead after 2. Northview would need to score 3 to tie the game in order to receive enough points to play in the Championship game. They battled hard but were never able to generate any offense as Eds skated away with the 5 to 2 win. The Cats did however earn enough point to finish 3rd out of 7 teams and play in the Consolation game once again against Lake Catholic.
The second meeting with Lake was all Northview. After spotting the Catholics an early goal Northview scored 5 unanswered goals and pressured Lake all morning for a lopsided 5 to 1 win. Nolan Culver and Zach Felser each scored a pair of goals and Sophomore Drew Crandall scored his career 1st. Phil Bowles earned his 2nd win in as many starts for the Cats making 16 saves.
The Cats will open up league play this weekend with a pair of games at Tam-o-Shanter. On Friday night they take on Bowling Green and Saturday they will face the St. Johns Titans. Both games will be at 7.
You must log in to post a comment.