Pat Payton
Sports Editor
Stratford Cullitons coach Phil Westman is hoping some line juggling will kick-start his team’s sputtering offence. He says the Tribe simply needs to get some goal-scoring confidence back.
“We had lots of shots, but Kitchener’s goaltending was strong,” Westman said after watching Cullitons drop a 3-2 Midwestern Conference decision to the Dutchmen in front of an estimated 800 fans last Friday night at the Allman Arena.
“We were a little weak around the net, and we didn’t finish when we needed to. We gave Kitchener a lot of confidence in that game, and now we have to find a little of our own again. Confidence in this game is huge.”
The loss was Stratford’s fourth in a row, leaving the Tribe (12-6) in third place after weekend action. Brantford Golden Eagles (13-3-1) continue to lead the pack with 27 points, just one more than Waterloo Siskins (13-4).
Cullitons, meanwhile, are just two points ahead of Listowel Cyclones (11-7) and three up on Cambridge Winterhawks (10-4-1) as only six points now separate the top five teams in the conference.
In their last four games, Cullitons have scored just six goals.
“Of course, we’ve got Brantford coming in here (this) Friday night,” Westman pointed out. “That’s a tough one, but maybe it’s one we need to get our game righted again. I said to the boys when we were playing Guelph and Kitchener, they want to come in here (Stratford) and get their game back on track.
“We knew we were going to have our peaks and valleys, and obviously we’ve lost four in a row and I’m pretty frustrated with it. We’re going to shuffle the lines up a little bit at practice this week and hopefully find some balanced scoring.
“We’ll try a few different (line) combinations and try and get our game back on track. We’ll work hard at practice this week and hopefully we’re ready for the weekend,” the coach said.
Kitchener 3 - Stratford 2
At the Allman last Friday, goalie Duncan Long turned aside 45 of 47 shots – including 21 in the third period – to lead the last-place Dutchmen (5-13-1) to their second consecutive road win.
Shane Bainbridge opened the scoring at 16:38 of the first period, firing a wrist shot over the shoulder of Cullitons netminder Cody Vinnai.
After Alex McCaffrey gave the visitors a 2-0 edge at 7:36 of the middle frame, the Tribe got quickly back in the contest with two goals – just over three minutes apart.
Centre Cohen Adair cashed in a Craig Dalrymple rebound at 11:25, and defenceman Andrew Lorimer connected for his first goal as a Culliton from the high slot at 14:40.
However, any momentum Stratford had going its way was soon erased when Josh Mitton scored what proved to be the winner at 17:56 while killing a penalty. After Vinnai stopped Brandon Passley on a breakaway, Mitton was there to jam home the rebound.
The Tribe out-shot Kitchener 21-12 in the final 20 minutes, but couldn’t get another puck past Long (4-4).
Overall, shots were announced as 47-29 in favour of Stratford.
After Friday’s home game against the Golden Eagles, Cullitons make their first visit to Elmira this
season to play the always-tough Sugar Kings Sunday.
“It will be a tough weekend,” Westman acknowledges. “Elmira always has a good team, and you can’t really judge them on their won-loss record (7-10).
“In our league, anybody can beat anybody else. Brantford lost twice (last) weekend, so they’re going to be ready when they come to Stratford. But those are the challenges and why you play the game,” he added.
