BANTAM 1: Monarchs 6, Sharks 4

Wednesday night at the MTS Iceplex hosted the 2nd placed Monarchs and 3rd placed Sharks. The Sharks, the underdog, have a chance to share second place at the top of the east division. Coming into last night, the Monarchs were a point behind the Hawks, with plenty of incentive to put it all on the line.

The match up had no shortage of action or goals for that matter. The first frame had fast breaks in both directions of the ice. Possession was dominated transitionally by the Monarchs however this was not reflected on the scoreboard as the period concluded with the Sharks up 2-0.

The Sharks big and agile team gave the Monarchs trouble around the net and high slot, limiting the Monarch’s offense to the perimeter of the Sharks territory. This didn’t change the game plan and signs of breakdown in the Shark defense became evident.

The Monarch’s team speed began to pay off in the first 10 minutes of the period, starting 34 seconds in with a Bielik (David) to Bielik (Joey) goal. This was followed by 5 more unanswered goals from the Monarchs. The Sharks had fight in the second half of the period thanks to a beautiful solo effort by Branden Huminuk cutting the Monarchs lead in half.

In the final frame both teams found themselves in penalty trouble as tensions between the two teams rose. The Sharks managed to light the lamp one more time, but it was too late and the Monarchs pulled away with the 6-4 victory.