Penetang – Saturday, November 1, 2014
10-0, ORO
This past weekend the boys traveled north on Saturday to
face the Flames for a matinee affair.
The boys came out fast and furious and applied immediate pressure to the
Flames. The coaches wanted to see a
renewed commitment to out-compete and out-work their opponents and the boys
delivered on both accounts.
Highlights of this game included Sammy’s coast to coast rush down the right hand boards delivering a wicked wrist shot to the bottom right corner of the net. It reminded me of the Great 8 of the Washington Capitals who would unleash a similar shot!
Wesley stood tall and poised at the offensive blue line and delivered a rocket of a wrist shot directly at the net that was tipped by Jack who was in great position...leaving the Penetang goalie with no chance. Great job, boys! Just like we’ve practiced!
Another stand-out moment came when Nicky delivered a thundering blast from the point, only to be foiled by a great Penetang save. In the ensuing battle for the loose puck, Devin, who was knocked down by a Penetang D-Man, was able to direct the puck into the net...from his stomach, no less! Great effort!
Nicky and Logan were solid at the blue line all game long, helping Jensen with his shut-out! Noal and Caden were aggressive and helped their team with the rising “Visitor” scoreboard!
The TSN Highlight of the Night came in the third period when Taylor fed Wesley at the left point who made a great read to see his partner Owen in the clear. Owen raced from the right point to the top of the circle and FIRED a bullet to the low right corner of the net. Thunder players, fans and coaches erupted with sheer joy to celebrate this teammate’s first goal of the season!! But the true highlight was when Big-O came skating back to the bench – his smile lit up the whole building! That’s what hockey is about!
These were just a few highlights of this game – there were many great performances turned in by all the players – and the coaches were very proud of all efforts!
Highland Storm – Sunday, November 2, 2014
9-2, ORO
Sunday afternoon the Storm faced the Thunder in an exciting, fast-paced game. As both systems collided, each wondered who would come out on top!
During the first period, the action was fast and furious as the Highland Storm provided a stern test for the boys. Midway through the first our rock-solid D-Man Owen made a great outlet pass to Jack who was in motion. With a couple slick moves Jack found himself alone and buried one past a surprised Storm goaltender, giving the home side a one-nothing lead. Even with the excitement of the first goal, the Storm weathered the Thunder advances throughout the first.
As the period was drawing to a close, and at the end of a long shift, a crafty Storm player found himself in alone on Jensen. As the Storm player deked left and right, trying to move Jensen out of position, Jensen looked like he had ice-water in his veins, out-smarted the Storm player, as he made a wicked blocker save, leaving the Thunder up 1 after one.
After a brief rest and a pep-talk at both benches, both teams came out swinging and looking to gain the next advantage. On a great passing play to a star Storm player, the Thunder found themselves in a tie game. After the drop of the puck at centre, and six small ticks of the clock, the Thunder re-gained the lead on a great solo-rush by Devin. Just 9 seconds later, on a slick passing play started by Noal, Devin was able to finish off another bang-bang play to put the Thunder up by two! What an amazing feat – two goals in 9 seconds! This is a lead that the Thunder would never relinquish.
With increased enthusiasm, the boys’ confidence with the puck naturally began to rise as well. To the delight of the coaches, the puck was shared more frequently. Taylor found himself with several great scoring chances on sweet passes from Caden and Jack. Sammy and Devin combined on a great “give and go” to give Noal a great sniping goal. Devin made several key passes to Logan at the point, allowing Logan to showcase his BOOMING wrist shot, which would make any goalie cringe with fear. The velocity of his shots created great rebound opportunities for our attacking forwards to pounce on, giving Logan many assists to be proud of. Noal and Jack both found themselves the beneficiaries of Logan’s great point shots. Wesley and Owen were fearless at the blue line, keeping the puck in at key moments of the game. Wesley and Owen played a smart and aggressive game, and it is great to watch their confidence grow. The Storm had some incredible forwards – who displayed great speed and puck control – but Nicky was always there to shut them down. His great speed is something to behold.
To round the game out and put an exclamation point on a Thunder win, Caden unleashed one of his patented wrist shots that rose high and hard over the Storm goalie’s shoulder. With an echoing PING that was heard throughout the arena, the puck entered the net bar down! What a shot!
Congratulations, boys, on two amazing weekend games. Keep up the hard work!