We've been telling the boys all year, that they can compete with some of the best teams in our circuit... we just need to do our jobs, play 3 full periods, and never give up. The game on Sunday night against Hamilton mountain proved just that...
Recall that early in our season, we ran up against the Hamilton Mountain team, and were
schooled in an 8-0 loss that was tough to watch. This was re-match time, and our boys were fired up and ready to go.
From the first puck drop, this game told two very clear stories... 1) Our kids were ready to compete; and 2) The Hamilton team obviously thought we were going to be a pushover win
Every single player on our team stepped it up, and as a whole, the boys played their best game of the season. Our defense was moving the puck up and out of the zone as we've been teaching them, and our forwards were playing a heads-up passing game that had the Hamilton defense turning in circles.
It was quite obvious that our opponents were getting frustrated, with some very rough play around the net after the whistle. The coaches take our hats off to the boys for staying calm, and not retaliating to the Hamilton players as they slashed, punched and crosschecked their way right into the penalty box on numerous occasions.
If you're looking for a few take-aways from this game, think about this...
- the first Hamilton goal came on a bad line change, as the coaching staff switched out the D right as Hamilton mounted an offensive rush... resulting in a two-on-oh situation.
- the 5th goal was an empty netter
Taking out the goals that were not in the kids control, we came away with a 3-2 loss over one of the best teams we'll face this year. I want to give a special shout out to Tobin, who played a great team game, with leading passes and heads-up playing for the entire game. With that kind of effort, his line will be filling the net with pucks for the rest of the season.
Great game everyone!