Seaway Valley Rapids Minor Atom-New Year-New Attitudes

Submitted by Johanne Sullivan

The Seaway Valley Rapids Minor Atom did not rest on its laurels after winning the Liftlock Tournament. The team resumed regular season play Thursday, January 15 against the Ottawa Silver Seven (Black) in a game presented by P & B Electric. Fresh off the tournament win, the team was going strong and skated away with a 5-1 victory. Contributing for the Rapids were Carey Terrance, Jr. with a hat trick, Jett Jock, Marco McCarthy, and Ben Pilon.

Next, the Rapids faced the top-ranked Gloucester Rangers (White) team. The boys winning streak came to a halt when they faltered 6-3. The game was tied going into the third period, but the Rangers were able to overpower the Rapids and scored three unanswered goals. Carson Martin, McCarthy and Jonah Ashby each scored for the Rapids.

The team’s next contest was against the surging Nepean Raiders in a game presented by AXXIS Optical. The Raiders scored first, but Terrance, on a pass from Jimmy Sullivan, quickly tied it up. In the second period, Terrance got the go-ahead goal from Ethan Montroy. Martin got an empty-netter at the end for a final score of 3-1.

With only four games remaining in the regular season, and second place up for grabs in the league, the Rapids faced the Cumberland Grads on Saturday, January 24th in a game presented by Pro Oil Change. After a strong first period, the Rapids were leading 1-0 on a goal from D’alessio. But the team was not able to hold onto its lead when the Grads had a strong second period and scored four unanswered goals. The Rapids fell short in its attempt to close the gap when Terrance scored in the final minute of the game for a final score of 4-2.

The Rapids hoped to redeem itself against the Kanata Blazers on Monday, January 26. Unfortunately for the team, it fell short of its goal when it skated to another loss of 4-3. The Blazers were leading 2-1 at the end of the first period with the Rapids’ lone goal coming Jett Jock on a pass from Josh Esford. At one point in the second period, it was leading 3-1. Montroy scored unassisted in the second to try and give his team a spark, but the Blazers scored again in the opening minute of the third period. The Rapids were not able to recover in time. Terrance scored in the middle of the third on a pass from McCarthy, but it was not enough to get past the Blazers.