Oro vs. Owen Sound: 5-0, Oro
Our final pre-Christmas match took the Thunder on the road
to the far reaches of Owen Sound. The
kids and families traveled in style today as Coach Dale was able to arrange for
first class transportation on the Barrie Colts bus! The first-class continued on as all players
were given an early Christmas present of an Oro Thunder tie...coaches
included! We looked like a well-dressed,
cohesive team walking into the Bayshore Community Centre in our matching black
THUNDER ties!
The first period was a dominant period for the Thunder. Many quality scoring chances were generated throughout the period. Two great individual efforts, one by Caden and one by Logan, with great end-to-end rushes put the Thunder up two after the first.
The Attack were playing a chippy, physical brand of hockey today which led to numerous power play opportunities for the Thunder. Much to the coach’s delight, our players maintained their focus and discipline and were able to concentrate on competing. Noal was in fine form tonight and playing in front of a packed house of family and friends. Playing in your dad’s hometown puts a little extra “giddy-up” in your step, and we sure saw that tonight. Noal had several highlight rushes and great passes, including one early in the second period where he made a tape-to-tape pass to Caden for a tap-in goal to make it 3-0 Thunder after two. Great effort today, Noal! You deserved a better fate on the scoresheet – keep up the great work!
Early in the third, Jack, Devin and Taylor showed real line chemistry as they worked the puck amongst themselves deep in the Owen Sound end. With each player showing soft hands and a deft touch, Devin and Taylor were able to feed Jack the puck in the slot where he buried a hard, high wrister past a helpless Attack goalie. The line continued their magic 30 seconds later with a follow-up goal by Devin!
With an East Coast Christmas on his mind, Sammy played a strong two-way game. Creating numerous turnovers, he also created an abundance of scoring chances for himself and line mates!
Wesley was a tower of strength once again today. When the Attack players were able to break free of their zone, Wesley immediately shut them down and transitioned the puck quickly back to offense. Nick once again put up a rock wall around our zone, as he always does. With his great skating and tenacious attitude, mighty Nick controls the play whenever he is on the ice. Kudos to Owen today as he was forced to miss the early bus trip to Owen Sound due to overnight illness. Like the true warrior that he is, he asked Mom and Papa to drive him to Owen Sound, so he could be there for his teammates and the game. He played like a strong, healthy pro, and you would never know that the flu was holding him back just 12 hours earlier.
Jensen posted his 12th shut-out of the season and is putting together a very impressive resume! You are an amazing guardian of the cage!
Following the game, a big thanks goes again to Coach Dale for arranging a tour of the Owen Sound Attack OHL dressing room. Our players were astounded by the fancy dressing room, the workout gym and the medical facilities offered to all of the OHL players. The Owen Sound team currently has three players on their roster from nearby small towns like ours. My message to the boys is – ANYTHING is possible...have big dreams for yourselves!