Jan 20, 2014 | dstasso | 1371 views
Winding Down & Winter Classic
Over the last 2 weekends we had a little bit of fun and a little work left to be done. First on the list of things to do was participation in a Winter Classic game in Aberfoyle hosted by the Waterloo Icewolves......
On a cold afternoon in Aberfolye us and the Waterloo Icewolves prepared to hit the ice in a friendly game played outdoors. The excitement and anticipation was almost too much to handle as the boys got ready in the dressing room. The game would feature a "pro style" warm up, player introductions, national anthem, 3- 20 minute periods, and a shootout.
The kids smiled all the way and were not put off by the chilly temperature outside. Both teams played a competitive game and had what seemed to be a stress free good ole time at the rink. Special thanks to D. Schill from the Waterloo Icewolves for braving the cold and refereeing. Also, a big thank you to the Waterloo Icewolves for inviting us to play in this memorable game. On our side ......thank you to S. Brenner for the incredible photography, and C & J Arsenault for getting the Tim Bits and Hot Chocolate for both us and Waterloo as it was a nice gesture and showed great sportsmanship. The coaching staff hope the boys and their parents had a great time and will remember this for a long time to come.
This past weekend we had 2 more games to play as we wind down our season and prepare for Tiering. Our team goal was to finish the season going into Tiering in 1st place. We knew we had a chance but teams below us are starting to nip at our heels.
On Saturday we played the Hamilton Cyclones at home. Unfortunately we didn't get the start we wanted and came out flat. This is the first time we have seen a 3 on 0 against us on the opening face off. J. Todd came up big to make the stop though and keep the score at zeros. We knew we were flat so the coaching staff kept encouraging the players to work and give us something positive. The boys responded in the end to come out victorious winning a close game 2-1. B. House earned player of the game honours for his effort. The coaching staff was not happy with our level of play and knew Sunday would have to be better for us to have a chance at beating Brantford who now sat a game behind us in second place.
On Sunday we made our way to a snowy Brantford to play the Saints. Our boys seemed determined to make up for the flat effort the previous day. Boy the team did in spades. We had our legs early and used a gritty forecheck to produce turnovers and get great scoring chances. The game saw us go up 3-1 early with the final score eventually being 5-2 for us. This is the best we have moved the puck this year with some great passing plays. The boys were encouraged and applauded for their overall effort. R. Nichols played a solid game when we needed him and the player of the game went to J. Schmidt for his increasingly improved play of late. The team as a whole could have won the player of the game as we were pleased with the team effort from ALL players.
After the game most of the team headed over to Works Burger in Brantford for food, laughs, and a few drinks. Thanks to J. Okeefe for setting this up and the owners of Works Burger for their hospitality. I don't think anyone left hungry.
We look forward to our last game next weekend against Waterloo before we are tiered into Tier 1 and Tier 2. Congrats on making Tier 1 for the second year in a row. Once tiered all teams will start with 0 pts and we will have to play everyone in Tier 1 twice (home and home) to seed for playoffs. The top 4 teams in each Tier will then make the playoffs. The month of February will be a quick one and we need all hands on deck to be successful. Congrats on your efforts and accomplishments so far (undefeated in 20 games and tournament champs in Guelph) but the real work is just beginning. Let's continue to work and further strengthen that championship mentality we have worked so hard to build.
MD Blue Coaching Staff