It’s a good thing the Arthur Juvenile Vipers aren’t the type to give up easily. After absorbing back to back 8-2 and 7-3 losses this past weekend against a very strong Mildmay team in the WOAA championship series it would be easy for a lesser team to throw in the towel. In my view that’s highly unlikely to happen, as this is a team that has rebounded more than once this season after a tough couple of games. They’ll get their feet underneath them and give Mildmay a challenge yet.
In the opening game the Vipers held their own early making Mildmay work for their chances. The turning point came in the second when the speed of the visitors kicked in with three breakaway goals forcing the Vipers to open up the play looking for chances to get back in it. As many other tams have discovered that leaves you vulnerable to the counter attack and the visitors were effective at that game.
In Mildmay on Sunday the predictable happened as the hometowners with a big crowd behind them opened up with a first period blitz. Trying Valiantly the Vipers did all they could to turn back the onslaught but a few good bounces around the Arthur net gave Mildmay a 4-0 lead. Here’s the good news. In the final two frames it was basically a 3-3 tie, in fact there’s a solid argument to be made that Arthur got the best of them as the final Mildmay goal was into an empty net. The Vipers seemed to find a way to handle the opposition’s speed and also a way to use their own to make the Mildmay defence scramble. All in all the final two stanzas would lead you to believe the Friday in Mar. 5 game at the ACC is going to be a cracker jack, humdinger deluxe, one that you definitely don’t want to miss.