Oro vs. Highland
Storm: 6-0, Oro
Today we had 11 young men all pulling in the same direction
as we faced the Highland Storm in downtown Haliburton! With Sammy still finishing his Christmas
vacation on the East Coast, we were fortunate enough to have Dylan join the
squad for our match where he fit in seamlessly with Caden and Noal, producing
two great apples, and was “plus four” on the day...what an amazing day! Thanks for joining us today, Dylan...you were
awesome!
I’d like to showcase the talent of our four defensemen who played an incredibly passionate game today. Owen played like a possessed man throughout the game. His speed, strength and determination were on full display from start to finish, and made for a long, frustrating day for attacking Storm forwards. Owen’s consistency is something we can always depend on – great team-work, Big O!
Nicky was dominant and controlled the pace of the play all day long with his great skating stride. He read the plays incredibly well. His ability to be one step ahead of the play allowed him to intercept pucks quickly, and move them skillfully to teammates in motion. Great heads-up play – and way to add another stone to your ROCK WALL, Nicky!
Wesley continued to be a force to be reckoned with. His compete level today was off the charts and it was noticeable that Storm forwards were staying away from his side because they knew he would shut them down. The offensive side of his game continues to blossom and was on display again this morning. As Wesley stepped up to intercept a pass in the neutral zone, he recognized Thunder players were still trapped inside the blue line. With great poise and patience he straddled the blue line, allowing teammates to exit the zone. With his soft hands he pulled a great toe drag to put himself in on a rush, only to be foiled by a great save by the Storm goalie.
Our offensive leader on the back end, Logan, had his talents on full display today. He made several great end-to-end rushes, one of which produced a sweet bar-down goal – and the ricochet off the bar could be heard throughout Haliburton!
Taylor produced an outstanding individual effort today! He was a leader on the forecheck and a consistent leader on the backcheck, which is something we strongly stressed today in the dressing room prior to the game. He had many great scoring opportunities today – keep putting yourself in those great positions and your luck will change!
Caden was on fire all day today, from his opening shift to his final shift. His natural offensive instincts produced three sweet tallies for the team and left numerous Storm defenders shaking their heads in wonder. The one aspect of Caden’s play that I’d like to highlight today was his determined pursuit of Storm players on the backcheck. His great hustle forced numerous turnovers and made Storm players believe we were playing with an extra attacker on the ice! Cado- keep up the great hustle!
Noal went from playing in his dad’s hometown in Owen Sound to his mom’s in Haliburton, where she used to grace the same surface as a figure skater! He was dominant at both ends of the rink today and produced his own TSN highlight of the day! He picked up the puck and his great speed allowed him to out-race a Storm defender for a loose puck, where he went in and unleashed a devastatingly high wrist shot that nobody in the rink saw until the red light started flashing!! Great game today, Noal! Please tell me you have family members in Penetang tomorrow!!
Devin worked the ice at both ends today, and consistently shut down scoring chances in our end while producing chances for himself and linemates. Devin posted one sweet tally, and was a blur as he streaked from one end to the other time and time again. His passionate play reminded me of the Energizer Bunny today- never giving up!
Jacko played the role of “set-up” man today as he made numerous great decisions with the puck. He was a force against the boards, battling for pucks against hulking Storm defensemen, and making great, smart passes out front to open teammates. Great team play and passing today, Jacko!
Another shut-out was posted today for Number 1 – it wasn’t his busiest workload in recent games, but Jensen remained focused and ready throughout the game and made key saves when we needed him to!
It was clear that all the Christmas turkey and parties did not take a toll on our team conditioning and focus – and we are looking forward to our final two games of the regular season!