April 14, 2018 – In game two at the Orangeville tournament, the Saints faced off against the North Stars. Like all teams, Owen Sound had to battle through the winter weather before hitting the floor and arrived only 40 minutes before game time.
Getting the start in goal for the Saints was Dylan Munro, the first of three goaltenders to play for Newmarket in the game. Owen Sound gave the nod to Wes Hamilton.
The Saints got on the board first as rookie Dougie Crawford cut through on a nice pass from Dante Romano and fired it home. Another highly touted rookie answered back for the North Stars as Brody Caskenette scored his first of the game. That’s when the Saints ramped it up, controlling the play for the rest of the first period and getting goals from Aiden Flannery, Brandon Tanics and Crawford. The teams went into the intermission with the Saints leading 4-1.
The North Stars clearly found their legs in the second. Noam Rouse broke in on a fast break to cut the lead in half just 33 seconds in. Minutes later, Luke Grimoldby scored on the power play to make it 4-3. Things really opened up from there. The Saints’ Crawford put home his third of the game, while Luca Romano added two of his own. The North Stars got another goal from Grimoldby, followed by quick tallies from Quinton Maddock and Dominic Millman to close the second period tied 7-7.
The Saints came back motivated in the third. L. Romano scored his third of the game on a great solo effort that saw him pressure a penalty killer, strip him and fire home a breakaway power play goal. Three minutes later, Austin Kent put the Saints up 9-7 with a power play goal of his own. The script flipped then as Newmarket got into penalty trouble, setting up power play goals from Grimoldby and Caskenette to tie the game at 9s with just over four minutes to play.
Strong goaltending and tough defense from both sides kept the teams deadlocked the rest of the way. Final score Saints 9, North Stars 9. Access photos of the game here.
Up next – the Saints travel to Clarington to open their 2018 season against the defending Eastern Conference champions, the Green Gaels. All the details can be found here.