The Maitland Novice Ice Sharks took part in the Northshore Challenge Cup this past weekend. Hard work, strong goaltending, and a commitment to be defensively solid, were the keys to the Sharks’ third place finish.
The Sharks dominated their first opponent, the Northshore Hitman from the drop of the puck and came away with 6-2 victory. Ice Sharks’ Logan Wanless, Hunter Zettler, Garret Kreager and Gabe Walker were all excellent at backchecking and clearing the scrabbles from in front of the net. Trevor Donaldson put the Sharks on the board late in the first and Brent Scott added two more to the tally. Joshua Castle, Colton Atkins and Bryce Mcfadden all added singles. The second game on Friday was against Silver Springs Selects. The Ice Sharks came out flat and lost 7-0.
The Ice Sharks were determined to come out flying against their QuickFeet rivals Saturday afternoon. Donaldson scored twice to put the Sharks ahead 2-0 going into the third. QuickFeet capitalized on the Sharks inabililty to clear the puck and tied the game 2-2. The Ice Sharks responded quickly when Austin Vanwyck passed the puck up to Atkins who put the game winning goal top hand corner late in the third to give the Sharks the 3-2 victory. The Sharks next opponent was an evenly matched Orange Crush. The teams scoring went back and forth throughout the game with Bayden Parent scoring twice, Dean Sealey and Matthew Bean adding singles. The Crush defeated the Sharks 5-4.
Sunday morning was a rematch against the Orange Crush in the semi-finals. The first two periods were very physical and hard fought. The game was tied 2-2 going into the third with Brett Zabel and Cody Camm scoring for the Sharks. The Ice Sharks weren’t able to carry the momentum into the third and the Crush took over the scoring and defeated the Sharks 6-2.
The Sharks’ goaltenders, Malachi Albrecht and Carson Hebner were outstanding in all of the games during the weekend. The team should be commended on their excellent team effort and success throughout the tournament. Way to go Sharks!!