09 January 10, 2009 - ObserverXtra

THE OBSERVER | Saturday, January 10, 2009 SPORTS | 19
Close battles, but still no ‘W’ for Jacks
Pair of weekend losses extends Wellesley’s losing streak to 14 games
JONI MILTENBURG
The Wellesley Applejacks
dropped another
pair of close games
last weekend, bringing
their record to 5-18-4.
A 5-2 loss got things
going on Jan. 3. The
game was closer than
the score showed,
courtesy of two empty-net
goals in the final
seconds. The next
day, Wellesley lost 5-4
to Lucan. The Jacks
struggled with penalty
killing that game, as
Lucan converted on
three of four power
plays.
“It seems like every
goalie we’re playing
against is the best
in the league [that
night],” said team
captain Scott Litt after
Saturday’s game.
“We couldn’t bury our
chances.”
On Dec. 27, Wellesley
lost 5-4 to St. George,
staging a dramatic
comeback in the third
period, but ultimately
too late to change the
result.
St. George dominated
the scoreboard in
the first two periods,
notching a power play
goal at the end of the
first and pounding in
three more goals in the
second. Seven minutes
into the third period,
St. George added a fifth
goal to make it 5-0.
Wellesley’s scoring
machine finally shifted
into gear in the second
half of the third period.
Eric Parr scored
midway the period,
and that goal cracked
the dam. Read Shantz
notched a power play
goal at 14:08, and Brett
VanGerwen added a
second power play goal
two minutes later. With
a minute left, Parr
scored his second on a
feed from Matt Snyder.
But the Jacks couldn’t
find a tying goal and
the game ended 5-4.
Last Saturday, the
game got off to a choppy
start as the two
teams racked up 27
minutes in penalties in
the first period.
Ayr opened the scoring
midway through
the period, when Kody
Pickett scored on a pass
from Matt VanLauwe.
At 8:12 in the second,
Robbie Brooks made
it two for Ayr; Sean
Mould had the assist.
With two and a half
minutes left in the second,
Parr (Chris Givlin,
VanGerwen) flicked a
rebound into an open
corner of the net to get
Wellesley on the scoreboard.
Five minutes into the
third period, Ayr made
it a 3-1 lead as Destin
Wolfe-Sabo found the
mesh on a feed from
Todd McEachern.
Parr brought the Jacks
within tying distance
This year
get happy
feet
At
Foot Foundation
at 12:41, scoring on a
pass from Pat Doyle.
The Jacks were on the
hunt for the equalizing
goal when coach John
Tsai pulled the goalie
with a minutes and
a half left. But Ayr’s
Jeff Chambers slid
the puck down the ice
for an empty net goal.
Fifteen seconds later,
Corey Vranken added a
second empty-net goal
to make the final score
5-2.
Litt said the Jacks
are outplaying their
opponents on many
occasions, but missed
chances are hurting
the team.
“You can’t kill everything.
You’ve got to expect
that they’re going
to score goals,” he said.
“There’s only so many
opportunities to get a
goal. You can’t throw
those away.”
In the game Jan. 4, the
Jacks barely warmed
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PHOTO | JONI MILTENBURG
HARD DRIVING Matt Snyder wheels with the puck on his way to net during
the Jacks’ 5-2 loss to Ayr Jan. 3.
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