Cinderwood continues dominating play in summer league

A dominant five-goal first period helped Cinderwood get the close 7-5 victory over EBA Wednesday in the Whitehorse Summer Hockey League.

A dominant five-goal first period helped Cinderwood get the close 7-5 victory over EBA Wednesday in the Whitehorse Summer Hockey League.
Despite EBA trailing by four goals heading into the final period, the team never gave up and managed to score three goals in the final five minutes of the game, which was played at the Canada Games Centre.
With the win, Cinderwood improved its record to 4-1 and currently occupies sole possession of top spot in the league’s standings.The team is presently on a two-game winning streak and this was its second victory over EBA.
“We have a pretty good team of young kids and they just move the puck around well,“ said head coach and team sponsor Jay Glass.

“The one game we lost we ran into a pretty good team that was fired up to beat us, but I think we learned a lesson. These guys, they are so young and they are competitive that they hate to lose, so you don’t really have to do too much to get them into it.“
Cinderwood’s only loss this year was against Casa Loma, which won last Wednesday by an impressive score of 11-4. 
The team rebounded from its one blemish on the season and won an inspiring game against Ketza on Monday. Ketza came out strong and took a decisive 5-1 lead into the second period, but in dramatic fashion Cinderwood fought back to get the win.

The victory was a credit to some great coaching by Glass and some key power play goals, which helped the team battle back to get the 10-8 win. The winning goal came off of the stick of Kane Dawe with 2:21 remaining in the second period.
Cinderwood’s previous game against EBA was on July 9. Ted Stephens led all scorers on Cinderwood, finishing with an incredible five points. Stephens lit it up on three occasions and chipped in for two assists, while Robbie Stuckey also showcased his skills, scoring a goal and adding two assists.
Jaxon Glass finished with two points, contributing a goal and one assist in the win over EBA.
Wednesday’s game saw an evenly played matchup, with both teams trading chances before Cinderwood got on the board nearing the half way point of the period.
The puck was put in by Jaxon Glass, who took advantage of EBA’s goalie, Ian Perrier, being out of position after making the initial save.
The goal seemed to open up the flood gates for Cinderwood, which added to its lead not even a minute later. Cinderwood’s second goal of the game was notched by Robbie Stuckey, who made a nice move before sliding the puck past Perrier.
Cinderwood kept the pressure on, which eventually resulted in the team’s third goal of the game. The goal was put at 5:05 by Burt Stephens, while Evan Campbell was credited with an assist.
Campbell wasn’t finished and extended Cinderwood’s lead to four goals not even two minutes later. He showed off his skating abilities, cutting across the net to beat Perrier with a perfectly placed shot.
It was while EBA was killing off a penalty that the team was able to finally break the goose egg.
The goal was notched at 3:29 by Drew Pettitt after the puck was cleared out of EBA’s zone. Pettitt won the race to the puck and made a highlight reel move, outweighted Cinderwood goalie, Brad Gustivson, before roofing the puck into the top corner of the net. The goal came just 10 seconds into the penalty.
Cinderwood restored its four goal advantage in the final minute of the opening period. Campbell scored his second goal of the game on a great rush with Stephens. The two players passed the puck back and forth before Campbell fired it into the back of the net. 
EBA had a great chance to get back into the game early on in the second period with a four on three powerplay situation. Cinderwood still had 1:53 remaining on its first penalty.
Cinderwood didn’t buckle under the pressure and killed off the penalty without allowing EBA any scoring chances.
It didn’t take long for the action to pick up in the game and both teams had plenty of scoring opportunities in an end-to-end style of play. The two goalies stood their ground though, making a number saves for the first half of the final frame.
EBA helped cut into its deficit, scoring the first goal of the second period. The goal was scored by Ryan Martin, who took advantage of a scramble in front of the net before putting the puck in.
In what was a wild final 10 minutes of the game, both teams combined to score five goals.
Cinderwood once again restored its four goal advantage after Stuckey found the back of the net for the second time in the contest.

Pettitt responded for EBA, scoring the team’s third goal at 3:05, before Kane Dawe added the final goal for Cinderwood with 1:45 left in the game.
In the final minute of play, Martin scored once again for EBA, while teammate Lowell Johnson put in his first of the game with just two seconds left on the clock. The final score was 7-5. 
Glass said the team’s play is getting better as the season progresses.
“I think they are getting better,“ he said. “They seem to really enjoy playing together, which is strange for a short little summer league like this. It seems like there is some good chemistry with the combinations that we have and it just seems to be working. They don’t quit, so that’s always a key.“
The Whitehorse Summer Hockey League will be played for five weeks in total and will wrap up on Aug. 8.
There is a total of four teams in the league this season. The final day of competition will feature the first place team square off against the second, while the the third ranked squad will play the team who finishes in fourth.
This is the first year that the league has received corporate support, which helped reduce the overall participation cost for players this season. The four companies include Cinderwood, EBA, Casa Loma and Ketza.
The cost to join the league was $75, which guarantees eight games of competition.

Without the corporate support the price to play eight games would have been around $200 per player.
The league is open to players who are at the midget level, junior level and even features some adult players from the Whitehorse Recreational Hockey League.
There are around 50 players in the Whitehorse Summer Hockey League this season.
The purpose of the league is to help maintain the fitness level of local hockey players during the offseason.
“The league’s going well,“ said Joe Martin, an organizer and player in the Whitehorse Summer Hockey League.

“It keeps the young guys in shape, which is why we are doing this. A lot of the guys up in the Yukon are getting a lot of respect down south. This just keeps them in shape and makes them even better for next season.“