October 31, 2006...TIGERS DEFINITELY NOT STAR STRUCK

The Tigers took a trip down the 403 this evening for a game with the 3rd place Mississauga North Stars at Tomken arena. The North Stars have had a long tradition of being one of the stronger teams in the AA division so it shaped up to be another test for our Streetsville Tigers as they continue there journey in the 06/07 season. This is their first meeting of the season so it's hard to anticipate how they will match up against each other. One thing for sure if the Tigers bring their "AA" game they will be a force to be reckoned with.

The game started with an expected fast pace, the North Stars having the early advantage with many good chances. All were nulified by the Tigers goaltender Connor Clark. The Tigers took an early man advantage allowing Adam Hiscock an opportunity to display his finishing skill around the net. After receiving a pass on his wrong wing Hiscock made a “bee-line” for the net and without missing a stride fired a pin point shot to the top right corner giving the Tigers an early 1-0 lead.

The Tigers then fell into a 2 man shorthanded situation but were successful in killing off the penalties by executing their strategy with perfection.

With revised energy the Tigers rebounded, literally, as Adam Galbraith pounded in an opportunistic bounce off the boards by banking it off the fallen North Stars netminder giving the Tigers the lead 2-0. Not to be discouraged the North Stars continued attacking on the Connor et al and with 4:56 left in the period the North Stars finally put one past Clark on a close in shot ending the period with the Tigers leading 2-1.

The Tigers found themselves shorthanded a few times through the game again. Justin Iskra and Nick Wallace were effective as penalty killers, frustrating the North Stars power play. The Tigers also had a couple of opportunities to exercise their power play but to no avail. The play continued to go back and forth with the Tigers keeping pace with the North Stars. Despite the lead it appeared that the Tigers opponents were starting to take a slight edge in the play. Then with only 1 minute left in the period the North Stars tied up the game, ending the period 2-2.

As seems to be the case recently the Tigers started the last period shorthanded. This time it was Jace McGrath’s turn to showcase his penalty killing skills and continue his normal “Mr. Hustle” effort on every shift. With both teams playing even strength for a few minutes the puck bounced back and forth and so did the bodies. The law firm of “Johnston & Canavan LLP” prevented any muggings in their own end and brought the gavel down hard on all offenders.

Unfortunately despite their efforts the North Stars took the lead 3-2 on the power play and then a few minutes later scored again to increase their lead to 4-2. That goal was scored with 2 Tigers serving sentences in the penalty box.

Not to be denied the Tigers Nick Wallace surged into the North Starts zone and the defenders split like the Red Sea, allowing Wallace to walk right in and score on a delayed penalty. The 2nd period ended with the Tigers behind 4-3.

The 3rd period was rather uneventful for the Tigers from a scoring perspective however they certainly maintained their spirit and continued to show that they can play with the “Big Boys” in the division. The North Stars one more goal making the final score 5-3.

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