The Township of Chatsworth “Edward McNabb Roofing” Bantam LL Rebels snapped a 3 game losing skid last night as they defeated the Kincardine Kinucks 3-2. With this win, the Rebels are still in the thick of the quest for a championship as the other top teams have also struggled and the best record thus far is a win and a tie posted by the Kinucks.
The Rebels worked hard and did a better job of staying out of the penalty box. The Rebels struggled with the prowess of Kinuck goaltender Alex Pande. It felt like they threw everything but the kitchen sink at him and he still stood strong as he stopped many shots and shut down many breakaways. Finally, near the end of the first period, Spencer Hanna managed to sneak on by him with the assistance of Evan Longland. Again, after being turned aside repeatedly in the second period, the Rebels persistence paid off with a goal by Dawson McNabb – assisted by Jeremy Skippen and Longland. Rebel goaltender Ethan Fennell also made some excellent saves at the Rebels end of the rink and the second period ended 2-0 in favour of the Rebels. This Kinuck team was holding onto first place in the playoffs thus far for a reason and came out hard in the third. A minute and a half in, they managed to find the mesh to make the score 2-1. Twenty seconds later, McNabb scored to give the Rebels an insurance goal, but with 13 minutes of play left it was still anyone’s game to win ... or lose. The play continued with excellent saves at both ends. Just past the 5 minute mark, the Kinucks snuck one by the Rebel goaltender to again bring them within 1. The finals minutes of play saw a flurry of shots and scrambles around both nets, but the Rebels came out on top 3-2 to take their first win of the playoffs.
This team takes the ice again in Chatsworth on Saturday, February 16 12:30 pm vs. the Teeswater Otters.