Feb 07, 2015 | Todd McIver | 486 views
Championship Day in London!!
On a Sunday afternoon, at the Western Fair Chrysler Arena, Team Blue was set to take on their rivals from London... the Mustangs Purple. Hoping for a replay of the round robin game where they were victorious over this very team, Blue set out to play in their fourth final in 5 tournaments. Another championship to add to their list of accomplishments this year was what every player, parent, and coach wanted. What team would come out of the room today?
The first shift looked promising. The second shift not so much. London would dump the puck into Blue's zone only a minute into the game and when the Blue D skated slowly to retrieve it, the London forward would beat the Blue D to the puck, centre it to another fast skating forward and the puck would find the back of the net. This was not the start Blue was looking for! The Blue bench was stunned. Two games in a row we would be down 1 goal less than a minute into the opening period! The remainder of the period was a little better but London controlled the play, won almost every battle for the puck, and seemed to want it more. Just when Blue seemed to gain a little momentum, a soft puck clearing attempt was kept in at the blue line by a pinching defender while all 3 Blue forwards cheated up the ice. With an overload in our end, the puck would again find the back of the net on a long rebound and missed coverage. The buzzer to end the period sounded and Blue found themselves in a 2-0 hole.
The second period was much better and Team Blue settled down. In typical Blue fashion, each player dug deep and battled back. Although there would be no scoring in the second period, a few hit posts and near misses gave a glimmer of hope! London continued to win the almost every physical battle and race to the puck but the skill of the Blue players kept it close.
Entering the third period, Blue needed to find some magic! When Purple got into some penalty trouble Blue found that magic and made 2 goals appear!! It was a new game!! A great point shot after some nifty passing and another goal produced from winning a puck race drew Blue even. The score would remain tied for the next 6 minutes and it looked like whoever scored the next goal would be the victor! Unfortunately for Blue, the re-appearance of slow feet and lost races to the puck in our corners lead to London notching the go-ahead goal. This lead would not be relinquished and Team Blue would have to settle for a second place finish. In any game against any opponent we have to remember that this is a fast, physical game and losing races to the puck and physical battles will not lead to success. Want the puck. Win the races. Win the battles.
Next up is a game against our own Rangers Red. Hopefully we have learned from our mistakes and can bring our AA game. Go Blue!