On Thursday night two of the top teams in the MSL will face off as the 2nd place Brampton Excelsiors face off against the 3rd place Peterborough Lakers. This is the first meeting between these two teams this year and will be a great test for both teams.
The Peterborough Lakers come into this game having scored the most goals in the league by scoring 51 goals in 5 games this season. Peterborough is lead on offense by John Tavares, Tracey Kelusky and Mark Steenhuis. John Tavares has 6 goals and 9 assists this season, Kelusky has 6 goals and 6 assists, and Steenhuis has 2 goals and 10 assists. Peterborough will also have Kevin Croswell in net who has been good so far this year posting a goals against average of 7.58 in three games played this season. Peterborough’s best chance of winning this game is to get their offense going early and pressure Anthony Cosmo in net for Brampton and to force Brampton to make defensive mistakes. If Peterborough can establish an early lead they will be in a good position to win as Brampton has struggled to score goals this season having scored only 35 goals this season. Peterborough will want to make a statement with this game and prove that they are one of the best teams in the MSL.
The Brampton Excelsiors come into this game with a 4-1 record and will want a win in order to keep pace with the first place Six Nations Chiefs. Brampton’s biggest strength this year has been their defense as they have only allowed 35 goals this season. Brampton has also received outstanding goaltending from Anthony Cosmo who has a goals against average of 7.00 which is the lowest in the MSL. Despite Brampton having trouble scoring so far this season they still have some great offensive weapons with Joe Resetarits, Dan Dawson and Joe Walter leading the offense. Resetarits has been great so far this season and has done most of the scoring for Brampton this season scoring 10 goals and adding 3 assists. Dawson has added 2 goals and 10 assists this season while Walters has added 2 goals and 9 assists. Brampton in order to win this game will need to continue to play great defense and will need to stop the trio of Tavares, Kelusky and Steenhuis. Brampton will need to be patient and not allow themselves to be spread apart by Peterborough offense. Brampton will want to force turnovers and loose balls which will enable them to control possession as well as get their own offense going. Brampton will also want to take advantage on the power play as they have the best power play in the league converting on 35.29% of their opportunities on the man advantage. Brampton will need to play their best in order to beat Peterborough as they are one of the most dangerous teams in the league.
This game will be a slobber knocker and will be a back and forth game. Expect both teams to be very motivated to get a win as this is a great opportunity for either team to make a statement and prove they are one of the best teams in the league. The game begins at 8pm and will be played at the Memorial Center in Peterborough.
