I am writing this game report from an ice breaker as north in the Great Lakes as you can get and there is just no ice to amount to anything. A strange season indeed for us on the water but what thrilling excitement you are getting to see with the battle of Oro and Flesherton! This is exciting hockey folks and no matter what happens you are watching the best of the best go at it for the Peewee A Division Cup! “PRIDE” is such an understatement when trying to put together words to express how well our Oro Peewee One team is doing this year and Game 3 of 5 was another close one!
The Coach had the full team back for the first time in a long while (in a very short playoff one week is like years) and the lines were shuffled around too offer the best chance of a victory! Greg was moved back to defense and the game began.
Oro came out hard today and were in the game quickly but the Flesherton speed game was already in action and a bit of Tick Tack Toe and Flesherton potted the first goal. Oro had barely enough time to recover when the same pair of skaters reversed the play and another puck found the back of the net! About 4 minutes later with 3:15 on the clock Greg threw a break out pass from behind the net to Nick who fed Logan. Logan took the pass and hit warp speed down the ice sending the puck accurately into the Flesherton net! Oro was on the board! The first period ended with Oro down just 1 goal. 2-1 Flesherton.
Early in the second the same Player who opened the scoring for Flesherton made another play at the net and put the score up 3-1. Logan was able to break free but was shut down by the Flesherton net minder. Flesherton started playing shut down hockey and hemmed Oro into the defensive zone. Only one Flesherton Player went deep. The 2 wingers and 2 defense hug back, keeping the puck in and throwing it at the net. “One Man in” was the call from the Flesherton bench and so Ben decided that he would be the “man in” and shut down Flesherton’s attempts on net!
Trent was hammering the Flesherton players and Greg took the goal scorer off the puck and shut him down. Shaunce was on the Flesherton’s fastest player…this girl dynamo… and he shut her down cold turkey! Daniel started playing a physical game and got the puck free…Logan took off for the oppositions net trailed by two Flesherton players and they all went into the boards. Logan emerged with the puck but was unable to put the power on it to get it past the goalie! With Flesherton back in Oro’s end and that dreaded “One Man In” the Boomers were throwing bodies at the net and at players stopping all the pucks they could. Ben was swatting shots away like flies again and poor Nick…BOOM…hammered into the boards and down he goes…Trainer on the ice….Nick is up and back ready for action…Just resting up the troops! Go Giddy Up Go!
Logan and Quinn went on a passing spree and dazzled the Flesherton players with their puck moving skills. The Goalie, however, still stood in their way and shot the dreaded glove out to shut them down! Elora had been injured before the game in a mishap that resulted in a cranial bump that would have had most men crying, (but Elora is a Boomer!!) so she simply tucked the damage under her helmet and was out on the ice smashing and crashing and shutting the Flesherton advances down! Woo hoo! The second period was end to end and Oro was giving it their all. Despite some chippy plays there were no penalties handed out. It looked like the NHL out there folks…The ref’s have the rule book in their back pockets…Second Period ends with Flesherton still holding a 3-1 lead
Early in the third now and the Flesherton speedy girl is racing in with the puck. Shaunce was finished with that nonsense and stopped her cold...BANG! Shaunce stripped her of the puck and cleared the zone. Both teams now were playing a tight game. Oro needed to score and Flesherton was shutting things down. Logan darted up the ice but lost the puck to the defended and the turn over went back towards Ben and the Wall was once again victim of some good passing. Oro was now down 4-1.
For most teams out there a three goal lead can break their sprits and the game becomes little more than damage control…stop the bleeding….let’s just get out of this. NOT THE BOOMERS!! The ORO Thunder Peewee One team are Hockey Warriors!! They will never go down without a fight!
After the 4 th goal for Flesherton, Oro regrouped and put it in overdrive. They would go down trying to win this with all they had! Greg upped his checking and taking Flesherton off the puck…David was back and moving the puck well. Shaunce was throwing himself into the fray and blocking shots like he felt no pain…things were getting intense! The rule books still in the back pockets! Nick and Elora and Greg were keeping it together on the Defense. Josh and David were working the puck as was Justin and Zack and Trent. Justin was digging and trying to move the puck when a Flesherton player drove into him with menacing force and carried poor Justin’s helmeted head into the glass…Justin bounced back up like a rubber ball and went right back after the puck…Holy Smokes…no call!!!
At 7:02 Logan was able to break free for another crack at Flesherton and was a working the Flesherton players like pylons in an Indy car…zip zip zip…fakie fakie…GOTCHA! Roof Daddy! 2-4…the Boomers are alive baby! There was time on the clock and the momentum had swung…Oro was in it and giving it their all. Flesherton was wasting time hemming Oro in with that “One Man In” atrocity of a hockey play!!!! UGH! The anguish…That Flesherton girl was darting about taking shots…Nick was helping Ben stave off the little beastie and the forwards were trying to get out and down the ice and try for a goal…
The clock had to time out eventually and as the last grain of sand in the hour glass fell the buzzer to end the third sounded…Flesherton had gained the series lead 2 games to 1
What a fight to the finish and it is not over yet!
The Boomers return to Flesherton on Tuesday where they were victorious in the first game!
Let’s go Oro Thunder ! You Guys are AWESOME!!!
Brent Hornick
Chief Engineer, CCGS Samuel Risley