Stoney Creek Tournament Update......
The Novice AA season is moving right along. With the completion of the Stoney Creek Tournament this weekend we are half way through our season and there was some great hockey played this weekend by our team and the teams we played against. The size of a hockey rink is 200 ft. long and 85 ft. wide and our players stepped on the ice as teammates and played with all their might, devotion and skill. It has been said that a sports game can be decided by inches or less and this weekend’s games showed how true that can be.
The opening game of the tournament was an extremely fast paced game which our players stepped on the ice with their blades of steel and engaged a fast pace Tecumseh Eagles team. As the final seconds ticked off we came up short in a 4-3 loss. But in that defeat lessons were learned and a sign of the growth and comradery of our players came to light as they did not get down when it was over but they skated to their goalie and gave him the pats on the helmet and words of encouragements only spoken between teammates to show their devotion to their gate keeper that protects their castle.
The second game of our tournament saw the Oshawa Minor Generals step on the ice against our team. The opening period started off with some great chances on both sides which in turn saw Oshawa jump out to a early two goal lead. However through the encouragement of the coaching staff and the persistence of all three lines the players kept up the play and battled back. From the forwards, centres, defensive players and goalies our players skated as hard as their legs would take them. With every shift they made great plays to overcome the two goal deficit to win 6-3.
The third game of the tournament and the start of the elimination rounds saw our team take the ice against the Peterborough Petes. This game was the nail bitter of the tournament with so many amazing plays and lucky bounces on both sides of the rink. This game was a stepping board and confidence boost for many players. During this game we saw many players carry the puck to open ice and when everything is telling them to shoot they overcame those urges and made some excellent open ice passes to their teammates thus creating incredible scoring opportunities. This game showed true determination by our team as they flew across the ice. Unfortunately as the final minute and fifty three seconds ticked off the clock with 6 Windsor players battling in the offensive zone for the duration and the puck lying within millimeters of the goal line the buzzer went off and we lost 2-1.
The greatest moments of this tournament were not defined by the numbers on a score board or the “W” and “L” on the web page but by the athletes that played the game. This sport is truly a game of inches and ups and downs but the signs of devotion, comradery and dedication to their friends and teammate’s came to light.
There are so many highlights on any given day but one of the best’s this tournament was the 1st goal this season by one of our players. The utter excitement as he raised his hands in the air and was congratulated by all his teammates and the quick look up to the stands with the mouth guard smile to mom is the true meaning of why they play the game.
“You can’t put a limit on anything. The more you dream, the farther you can go.”