The following are minor hockey dispatches

On Friday Feb. 10 the JoAnne Sharpley’s Source for Sports/Haliburton Family Medical Centre peewees headed to Ennismore to play in their first playoff game. Both teams came out wanting to set the tone early. The first period was a battle back and forth with the Eagles scoring with three seconds left in the first to put them ahead 1-0. The Storm struck in the second with Kolby McGovern scoring assisted by Nick Phippen and Kyan Hall. Then two minutes later the Storm put in another from Dylan Keefer assisted by Colin Glecoff and before Ennismore could regroup the Storm took advantage with another goal scored by Olivia Villamere assisted by Mathias Lee. The Eagles came right back eight seconds later to put one of their own in but the Storm finished out the second with one more goal scored by Keefer unassisted to put the Storm up 4-2 going into the third. The Eagles scored at the start of the third to bring them within one but the Storm netted another with Keefer scoring short handed and Ty Mills scoring an empty netter to seal the deal with the Storm winning 6-3. Another amazing job between the pipes from Darian Maddock.

The Eagles headed to Haliburton for Game 2 on Saturday. The Storm struck first with a goal by Keefer unassisted. Despite the Storm playing short handed multiple times the Storm retained the 1-0 lead going into the second in main part from the excellent goaltending from Maddock. The Eagles managed to score a power play goal to tie it up but the Storm scored two in the second short handed 20 seconds apart. Both goals scored by Keefer; the first unassisted and the second assisted by Villamere. The Eagles scored another at the end of the second to make the score 3-2 going into the third. Both team battled back and forth but the Storm struck eight seconds into the power play with a goal by Hall assisted by Keefer. The Eagles tried everything they could but just couldn’t net another with the Storm taking the game 4-2. Amazing goaltending by Maddock keeping his team in the game at all times.

On Sunday the Storm headed back to Ennismore to play the Eagles to try to finish off the series with a sweep. The Eagles scored first on the power play but the Storm kept the pressure up and scored a power play goal of their own with Phippen putting it in assisted by Keefer and Hall. The Storm weren’t done yet with Keefer scoring assisted by McGovern. Then on the power play the Storm struck once more with a goal by Hall assisted by Phippen putting the Storm up 3-1 going into the second. The Storm put in another power play goal scored by Hall assisted by Phippen and Mills. Then Gage Hutchinson scored another for the Storm assisted by McGovern the third period started with the Storm up 5-1. The Eagles were giving everything they had but the Storm were not giving them an inch. The Storm scored three more with a goal by Glecoff assisted by Phippen and Keefer and two more for Keefer one unassisted and the other assisted by Glecoff. The Storm sweep the series and move on to the semi finals versus the Penetang Flames. The peewees want to dedicate their series win to Hunter Winder and Gage Hutchinson who were both hurt in this series. Wishing you both a speedy recovery! Congratulations peewees!
Submitted by Ron Hall

On Thursday Feb. 9 the Haliburton Timber Mart/Canadian Tire Highland Storm novice team travelled to Fenelon Falls to face the Sturgeon Thunder in Game 2 of their playoff series. The Storm came out strong with fast skating and strong puck control but unfortunately found themselves down by two goals late in the second period. With minutes remaining in the period Caleb Manning got the Storm on the board and brought the team back to life for the third period. Solid defence and strong offensive pressure kept the Storm on the attack and Brechin Johnston netted two more goals late in the third giving the Storm a 3-2 win over the Thunder. Way to go Storm on a great team win! This put the team up 2-0 in the series.

Looking to finish of their series with the Sturgeon Thunder the Haliburton Timber Mart/Canadian Tire Highland Storm novice team hosted the Thunder on Sunday Feb. 12. The Storm struck first in the early minutes of the game when McLean Rowden found the net putting the Storm up by one. The Thunder were not going to rollover and they too found the net tying the game at one. The Storm continued to apply strong pressure on both sides of the puck resulting in a couple more goals for the Storm. The Thunder took advantage of some rebound opportunities and netted themselves a pair of goals tying the game at three heading into the third period. The Storm were relentless in their puck control and forechecking stifling the scoring opportunities of the Thunder and opening the door for the Storm. With some hard fought puck battles the Storm netted two goals in the third resulting in a 5-3 win for the Storm. Goals were scored by Brechin Johnston Austin Latanville and Josh Scheffee. Way to go team on an amazing playoff series. Excellent defence by Brady Burtch Evan Jones Caleb Manning and Parker Simms and superb goal tending by Chase Winder sealed the deal.

Congratulations to all players on another team win and for advancing to the semi-final round of the playoffs. Your hard work is paying off! The Storm will have to wait for their next match up to be announced. Thank you to our loyal fans for all your support.
Submitted by Janice Scheffee

The Bancroft I.D.A./Red Eagle Family Campground midget B girls hosted the Ennismore Eagles on Saturday afternoon as they continued their provincial play downs. The Jets opened the scoring late in the first period when Jordan Brownlee chipped home a rebound off a puck scramble in the slot to give Bancroft a 1-0 lead. Numerous chances to widen the gap on the scoreboard were generated by Bancroft but the Eagle tender stoned and stole all the Jets’ attempts at finding the twine. The Jets could not build on their first period lead until late in the third period when Jamie Little potted another rebound tally off a goal-mouth scramble to give Bancroft a 2-0 lead. Katie Hoover turned aside all Ennismore chances securing the shutout win. Strong finish girls in the needed win! Look to build on this effort as we host the West Northumberland Wild in Bancroft on Sunday Feb. 19 at 4:30 p.m.
Submitted by Dan Marsden

On Feb. 11 The Cottage Country Building Supplies/Ridgewood Ford Highland Storm atom travelled to Wasaga Beach for the third game of the playoffs against the Wasaga Beach Stars. The Storm played hard but lost 10-4. Goals scored by Austin Boylan Aiden Perrott and Avery Degreer.
Submitted by Amber Card