Coming off a tough 6-1 loss to very tough Durham Crusaders
over the weekend the Wild were eager for redemption as they battled the
Kawartha Coyotes on Thursday night.
The Coyotes came at us hard early in the first period and were rewarded as they slipped in on a breakaway and lifted one just over the shoulder of Half Price to give the Coyotes and early 1-0 lead just 1 minute in.
The goal seemed to light a fire under our Wild as they went on a rampage the rest of the period. Our forwards attacked hard and our defense held strong as we battled most of the rest of period deep in the Coyotes end. The Wild were unable to bury the equalizer, but were definitely gaining steam as the 1st period came ended with our home squad down 1-0.
In the 2nd period, our Wild continued to attack and would get the tying goal just 1 minute in. Nater would go hard to the net and hammer home a rebound of hard shot by Reesor for his 1st goal of the season.
5 minutes later Nater was back again and hammered in his 2nd of the game taking a nice pass from Hudsy and blasting it past the Coyotes net-minder for our first lead of the game. The Wild continued to attack but just could not bury another despite a ton of close chances in front.
In the 3rd period the Wild frenzy continued as our squad continued to put intense pressure on the Coyotes deep in their end. Just 1 minute into the 3rd the Wild would strike again. This time it was Kirky going end to end and finishing it off with a top-shelf marker to extend the Wild lead to 3-1.
Then with 3 minutes left the Wild would cap the victory as Crusty would use his back-hand to hammer in Powsey’s rebound for his 2nd of the season and give the Wild a demanding 4-1 lead!
The Coyotes had no answer for our relentless attack as the Wild hung on for the 4-1 win!
Every player contributed to the winning effort.
Half-Price coming off a very strong game against Durham earlier in the week had a relatively easy night but was solid when needed giving up just 1 goal.
Wild Bill was a beast all game long, winning battles and showing some incredible hussle and determination.
Powsey came very close to getting his 1st of the season with some great shots on goal and was very feisty all game.
Reesor showed great speed as he had a couple big breakaways and came back hard on the back check.
Crusty had another strong game on offense with some nice rushes and showed some good hussle and toughness down low.
Slammer and Vonzie continued their strong play up the middle each generating some high quality scoring chances and a commitment to getting back to help the defense.
Payner, playing her first game as a defenseman played very solid as she stood up the Coyotes forwards and did a nice job clearing the puck.
Lynchy and Kirky continued their strong play on defense and also showed some offensive spark joining the rush and carrying the puck into the offensive zone.
Hudsy and Pulley continued to show some great hussle and grit as they battled hard in the offensive zone and in the corners.
Nater was on a mission in this one and was a force all game and was rewarded with the first 2 goals of his young career. He really took his game to another level in this one! Perhaps we need to update his nickname to the Termi-Nater!!
Let’s keep up the good work as we get ready for another fierce battle against the Sturgeon Thunder on Sunday afternoon.
The Wild continue to improve with every game. We continue to see tremendous growth in each and every player as we are becoming a team that is truly tough to play against.
Keep it up everyone. The entire coaching staff is very proud!