Drew got to spend his 17th birthday on the home ice of the Tampa Bay
Lightning in Amalie Arena, as he and his Riverview Ice Sharks
teammates took on the Leto Falcons for two games. Riverview
dominated the opening period in terms of offense, getting off the
games first seven shots before Leto could even get one on net, which
wound up being a shorthanded opportunity that the Sharks goaltender
made a quick save on. There was another long stretch of Ice Sharks
offensive dominance, which was snapped by the lone goal of the
period - a Leto steal that led to a breakaway where the puck was
sent up and over the Riverview goalie. That lone goal came with just
over a minute left in the period, and Riverview was unable to mount
any kind of comeback attempt before the period came to a close. Over
the 13 minute period, Riverview outshot Leto by a 12-3 margin, but
found themselves down by a 1-0 score.
The second period was similar to the first, in that Riverview
controlled the offense, except this time they were able to convert
on some of their shot attempts. In fact, not even 30 seconds in they
scored on a wrister from a sharp angle to knot the score at a goal
apiece. In the blink of an eye (maybe two blinks) the Ice Sharks
found themselves on the board again, getting their second goal of
the period on just their second shot, all in the time of less than a
minute. They weren't able to convert on their third shot, but their
fourth managed to find the back of the net just four minutes in on
another nice wrist-shot, this one coming from the left side of the
net to make it a 3-1. Riverview continued to attack the net, and
with just over three and a half to go in the period they widened
their lead thanks to a breakaway opportunity that they were able to
convert for a 4-1 lead. Unfortunately for the Ice Sharks, that
wasn't the final goal of the period, as the Falcons managed to tip
just their second shot of the period past the Riverview goaltender
just before time expired. That goal made it a 4-2 game heading into
the final period.
Like the first two periods, it was the Ice Sharks on the attack
early, getting off the first five shots of this period. Despite
dominating the puck, it was Leto who broke the ice first, scoring
their third goal of the game after a Riverview defensive miscue led
to a breakaway. That goal came with just over eight minutes to play,
but Riverview kept at it and eventually regained a 2-goal lead three
minutes later, scoring on a long wrist-shot from the top of the
circle. That would be it for the scoring, even though Riverview got
to close out the game on the power-play thanks to two Leto
penalties. It wasn't always pretty, but we'll take the "W"! Way to
go Ice Sharks! |