Sharks bounce back with two wins

By Greg Coulter

A season long commitment to discipline and hard work paid huge dividends to the Wheatley Omstead Sharks over the past week.

After suffering a string of heartbreaking losses, the team responded with two defensive gems while getting their scoring untracked. Over the span of the last three games, the goaltenders managed to shut the door for over 126 minutes, narrowly missing back-to-back shutouts.

A balanced home effort against Petrolia Flyers saw the Sharks with a dominating performance, firing 47 shots on net while limiting the opposition to 23, including a season-low four shots against in a shutdown third period. The Sharks won 3-0.

Offensive stalwart Dallas Anderson led the way with two markers including a first-period shorthanded effort while the Sharks killed off a five-minute penalty. Braeden Caetano tallied in the second and Anderson responded again in the third on a power play. Assists on the night went to Ryan Cronheimer, Matt Thomas, Mason Gow, Shannon Olson, Matt Carvalho and Braeden Gray. Ethan Carlone stood tall between the pipes earning the shutout.

Sunday night in Blenheim, the coaches had the team well prepared and they dulled the Blades with a commanding 5-1 victory. They held a 2-0 lead after two and took over completely in the third.

Dallas Anderson (9) calmy celebrates a Sharks’ first-period shorthanded goal as the dejected Petrolia goalie looks on. The team went on to a solid 3-0 shutout victory and followed up days later with a 5-1 smash over the Blenheim Blades.

SUN photo by Greg Coulter

Shots were even on the night, but the opposition netminder was no match for the tenacity of the Sharks’ attack. Ashton Anderson (2G1A) and Shannon Olson (2G) led the way with Matt Carvalho driving home a single marker. Dallas Anderson (2), Liam Sinasac, Braedon Caetano, Denzel Aguilar, Devin St. Pierre and Braydon Davis added helpers. Ethan Handley shut the door until the final minutes of the game.

Coach Carnevale was extremely pleased, adding,”Our first clean sheet of the season on our first game was a result of a complete 60-minute game. It was a good week for us offensively and defensively. Good energy all week. The guys are starting to respond nicely to our coaching philosophy, and we look to keep the ball rolling into our next stretch of mustwin games. We have a week off to fine tune and get ready for the December push.”

The Sharks next home game is December 1 when Blenheim returns for a rematch.