Sharks swimming upstream

By Greg Coulter

WHEATLEY — The Wheatley Omstead Sharks faced a gruelling schedule on back-to-back nights against the league’s perennial powerhouses last week, dropping a 4-1 decision to the Essex 73’s and 5-2 to the Lakeshore Canadiens.

Tuesday night, Nov. 9, in Essex — a penalty filled affair — saw special teams play a pivotal role in the outcome. Essex opened the scoring with Dallas Anderson evening the contest with a hard-earned, unassisted short-handed marker at the 14-minute mark. End-to-end action ensued well into the second period. Penalties by both teams forced some constant line juggling.

The opposition gaining the upper hand with a powerplay and shorthanded goal, just over a minute apart late in the middle frame, set the tone for the balance of the contest.

With one more against in the third, the Sharks found themselves on the short end of a 4-1 setback. Ethan Handley with a solid effort, especially in the first half of the contest, turned aside 27 shots and allowed the Sharks to stay within grasp of a favourable outcome.

With little chance to rest and several key players out of the lineup, the Sharks suited up 24 hours later at home against unbeaten Lakeshore.

Referee Andy Anthony signals Shark’s goal on a blast from Braeden Gray as his teammates move to celebrate. Despite a lack of scoring, Wheatley continues to work tirelessly and looks to return to the win column.

Despite outshooting their opponents in the opening frame, the Sharks found themselves playing catch up after surrendering two early goals.

Braeden Gray, with his first of the season, closed the gap to within one late in the first.

The second and third periods saw Lakeshore with a wide margin on the shot clock.

Jackson Ford — with 37 saves on the night — was spectacular in the net in his attempt to give his teammates a chance of a comeback.

However, a second period breakaway had the Sharks down by two entering the final frame.

The two teams traded goals early in the third, with Matt Carvalho also notching his first of the season. Ryan Cronheimer, Dallas and Ashton Anderson chipped in with assists on the night. Final score was 5-2 after the opposition rounded out the scoring. Coach Carnevale remains optimistic despite the recent setbacks.

“You have to play as clean as possible hockey against the top tier teams,” he said. “They capitalize on all mistakes. We continue to work hard, and we will have a full roster back soon. We can start to build some team chemistry. We have work ethic consistency, we just need to find a way to get pucks across the goal line.”

The Sharks return to home action November 17 when they host Petrolia.