The Canton Bears Varsity Hockey team lost both games over the weekend while battling injury and illness. The Bears faced adversity on and off the ice after a number of players could not play and two defensemen suffered injuries early in the Friday night game versus Malone. The Bears lost 3-1 to Malone and 4-2 to Ithaca.
Malone started out quick and scored early in the first period, and the Bears were chasing the game from there on. Canton did find a way to possess the puck in the offensive zone but struggled to break out of their own zone the whole game. After the Bears drew a cross checking penalty, they went to work on the powerplay and Kaden Baxter scored his first career goal on a pass from Drew Blevins and Reid Doyle. Canton only had a couple of seconds before the Huskies came back down the other way and scored on a well placed shot that beat Cade Chezum in net. The period ended 2-1 Huskies.
The second period was hard fought by the Bears, but they could not score. Malone didn’t find the back of the net either, and the game dragged on with a slight Malone lead, 2-1.
Into the third period the game went, and the Bears continued to have trouble in the defensive zone. The Huskies added one with 5:32 left in the third period to make it 3-1. The Bears pulled the goalie after a late period penalty, but could not score for the rest of the game.
Canton had a similar problem Saturday, and could not get the bounces to go their way and in the net. Drew Blevins scored first for Canton, after he hustled to a puck on the penalty kill and put it in on a wrap-around play. Ithaca came back with one of their own at the very end, and the game was tied at 1.
Garritt Palmer scored early in the second on a shot that the Ithaca goalie knocked in the net, putting the Bears up one and giving Drew Blevins an assist. Continuing to play hard, the Bears fell victim to some inexperience out on the ice. Ithaca scored two goals in the second to tie it at two.
The third period was a battle, but the Bears would lose it. Canton continued to struggle on breakouts and neutral zone play. Ithaca scored another halfway through, making it 4-2 in favor of Ithaca. Canton did not give up, but could not find the net and many shots just missed or were blocked.
Canton drops to 4-3 after the tough weekend, and will play in Northwood on Wednesday.
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