In a wild back-and-forth affair that saw over 40 shots fired in the first period alone, The GOATS stunned the AllStars Vortex with a dramatic 4-3 overtime victory. The game was a tale of two periods, with AllStars Vortex roaring out to a dominant start only to see The GOATS claw back with relentless pressure and a clutch OT winner.
The first period was pure chaos, with the AllStars Vortex jumping out to a stunning 2-0 lead thanks to a pair of early goals from Blake Thompson (#19). Thompson struck first at 14:58, finishing a beautiful passing play from Carter Randhawa and Dylan Aparicio, then struck again less than a minute and a half later, this time with Randhawa and Carson Elliott providing the assists. Despite being outshot 32-16 in the period, goaltender Blayne Thompson (#74) was a wall, turning aside everything The GOATS threw at him to preserve the early lead. The away team’s frustration boiled over when Greyden Girard was sent to the box for tripping, but the power play came up empty.
The second period saw the AllStars Vortex extend their lead to 3-0 at 15:24 when Liam Boodhoo (#16) buried a feed from Thompson and Sebastian Lalonde (#9). But the momentum shifted dramatically just before the intermission. With only five seconds left in the period, Laith DeChamplain-Pipella (#93) snapped a shot past Thompson to make it 3-1, giving The GOATS a huge boost heading into the dressing room. The period was also marred by a flurry of penalties, with Lalonde and Ethan Aparicio both sitting for tripping, but The GOATS couldn’t convert on either man-advantage.
The third period was all The GOATS. Steele Pridmore (#86) scored just 55 seconds in, assisted by Hadi Jaffery and DeChamplain-Pipella, to cut the lead to 3-2. Then at 13:24, Bexzen Ludtke (#10) tied the game with a helper from Jack Primrose, stunning the home crowd. Lalonde was whistled for tripping again, then teammate Charlie Nordheimer followed suit, giving The GOATS a two-man advantage late, but the penalty kill held firm. With the game tied 3-3, it headed to sudden-death overtime.
Overtime lasted just three minutes. Steele Pridmore, who had already scored once, became the hero, netting his second of the night to give The GOATS a 4-3 win. Despite the loss, Blayne Thompson faced an incredible 32 shots in the first period alone and finished with 32 saves on 36 shots. Ryker Sorrell earned the win for The GOATS, stopping all three AllStars Vortex shots he faced after the opening period. The comeback was a testament to The GOATS’ resilience, while the AllStars Vortex will rue the missed opportunities and untimely penalties that allowed a commanding lead to slip away.
U13 BRONCOS
