On Saturday the Jr. Ravens travelled to the Nanaimo Ice Centre to face off against the Timbermen.
It was a tough trip for the Ravens, coming away with a 15-6 loss.
The Timbermen got into some early penalty trouble and the Ravens would take advantage with a side by side pass along the crease from Smith to Marlow for the first goal of the game at 17:46. Hayden Smith would then get a goal of his own unassisted five minutes later and with three minutes left in the first, Thomas Marks would take a quick shot after a pass up the floor from Tyson Fair to give the Ravens their third goal. The first period ended 4-3 for Nanaimo.
The second period went back and forth with Smith getting a marker off the face off at 17:34 for his second of the game and Chris Vaux scoring unassisted. The T-men continued to shoot on net and would get 3 more markers in the second. The Ravens were down 7-5 but within reach of tying up the game when at 7:40 left in the second, netminder Logan Down would make a save that would bring him to the floor. After being unable to bounce back up the trainers checked his reflexes and he would stand up to get back in the game. The pain showed in his face and movements but he didn’t want to give up the pipes and with no back up goalie he continued to play. Nanaimo would get in his face for another marker before Marlow would find the corner of the net on a bounce pass from Brayden Howes to give the Ravens their sixth goal of the game.
Down would continue facing the T-men in net but as the crowd watched him try to fend off the opponents they would score another.
He fought the pain to bring the team through the second period before the coaching staff would look at players to find a back up for the third. Midget call up Cody Bezaire stepped up to the plate and dressed for net.
Although Bezaire would make some saves, the defense couldn’t hold the T-men back as they would get 6 unanswered goals in the third but the Ravens showed their grit and that they never give up with heroic efforts by both goalies.
Home for Sunday
On Sunday, the Ravens looked forward to a home game after two weekends on the road as they would host the Vic-Esquimalt Eagles for their second match of the season and the Campbell River squads second game of the weekend.
With Down out on the injury list and midget call up Matt Zeller unavailable, the fans wondered who would play in net. After an early season decision to take the year off, netminder Errol Adams would recieve a call from the Ravens coaching staff and Adams would agree to the challenge of filling the net for the Jr Ravens.
And fill it he did.
Hayden Smith would start off the scoring in the game when at 15:52 he received a pass from Brayden Howes for the Ravens first goal.
Vic-Esquimalt came back with their own four minutes later before Ravens captain Chris Vaux gets a rebound from Adams and with a break away would run the floor for an exciting second goal of the game. The first period would end 2-1 for the home side.
Three minutes into the second Adams would need a quick break to calm some nerves before heading back on the floor to take control between the pipes. The first goal in the second would come when at 13:17 Brayden Howes would find his way around the Vic Esquimalt goalie to get a marker on a power play pass from Eddy Lawson via Josh Whyley.
Five minutes later Tyson Fair would find himself open in front of the net and would shoot to score the Ravens’ fourth goal. The home boys were on a roll now and as Vaux rolled the faceoff ball to Howes, he would pick it up to run the floor for his second of the game only seven seconds later. A few minutes later Eddy Lawson would pass to Smith to Marlow who would find the corner of the net for their sixth. As the Ravens didn’t seem quite ready a quick goal would come from Vic Esquimalt with less than a min. left in play. The second period would end Ravens 6 over the Eagles 2.
The third period would find Fair on the scoreboard again after a pass from Howes and Blair Freer at 13:54 to give the home team their seventh goal. With pressure on net and the Vic Esquimalt Eagles playing 5 on 3, Adams would take another quick break before the Eagles would score their third of the game at 10:49.
As the Ravens came off a penalty, Howes passes to Rempel coming out of the box for a smooth transition and a shot on net giving Rempel his first of the game and the Ravens eighth goal.
Then after a missed too many men call for the visitors they would score their 4th goal of the game. The Ravens weren’t ready to give another goal up as the defense checked hard and at 6:35 a pass from David Vigneron to Arran Marlow to Josh Whyley would result in the Ravens’ ninth goal.
Three minutes later the Ravens would rally round the net for Marlow to get another for the Ravens on a pass from Blair Freer. At the end of the game the Ravens would gain two points for their impressive 10-4 win over the Vic Esquimalt Eagles.
The offense of those with points above as well as Adam Donald and Matt Lund played the ball and worked hard to get scoring chances, the defense lead by veteran Connor McLeod and rookie Chris Lund as well as Mac Maier, Cody Gent and Niklas Premke (and those with points above) talked on the floor to help each other out with positioning while keeping control and pushing the Eagles away from scoring chances.
Credit on the win also goes to new goalie Adams for making saves while coming out to play the first Jr B game of his career.
The Jr Ravens wish regular netminder Logan Down a speedy recovery on a shoulder injury while they get ready for the last week of league play. On Saturday, the Ravens will take their last road trip of the regular season to face off against Saanich at Pearkes arena while on Sunday, the Ravens will finish the season in their home barn at the Rod Brind’Amour arena, game time 3:30.
Minor Ravens players get in free wearing their jersey, and regular admission is $3.