The U11 Lions came out firing on all cylinders and never looked back, skating to a decisive 6-3 victory over the Kraken in a game that was decided early by a relentless offensive surge. The first period was all Lions, as they put up four unanswered goals to build an insurmountable lead. The star of the show was #14 Dermot Mielke, who recorded a natural hat trick in the opening frame alone. Mielke opened the scoring at 12:13 with help from #3 Nolan Milner, then struck again at 8:52 with Milner and #15 Isaiah Manlolo adding assists. He capped off his period with a third goal at 0:15, this time set up by #11 Claira Swyrd. In between, #16 Finnick Heemeryck also got on the board at 11:04 with an assist from #6 Dryden Babiuk, making it 4-0 Lions after just one period.
The Kraken showed signs of life early in the second period when #10 Nikhil Pereira found the back of the net at 0:55, cutting the lead to 4-1. But the Lions quickly restored their cushion in the third when #9 Kolten Rodil scored at 3:23 to make it 5-1. The Kraken mounted a brief rally, with #2 Charlie Zaverucka scoring at 1:12 and Pereira adding a power-play goal at 0:29 with a helper from #19 Victor Wang, trimming the deficit to 5-3. However, the Lions slammed the door shut when #3 Nolan Milner scored an empty-net goal at 0:11, assisted by Mielke, to seal the 6-3 final.
Despite the final score, the Kraken actually outshot the Lions 19-17 in the first period, the only period with shot data. However, Lions goalie #5 Munashe Berejena was sharp when it counted, allowing three goals on the night while his team poured in six. The Kraken’s #4 Hunter Rothwell faced a tough task and took the loss. A minor penalty to the Kraken’s #13 Rowan French for tripping in the first period didn’t help their cause, and a charging minor to the Lions’ Milner in the third was rendered moot by his eventual game-sealing goal. Dermot Mielke’s hat trick and four-point night was undoubtedly the story of the game, powering the Lions to a commanding win.
Raptors
