And play hard is what the team did; going out aggressively and winning the first face off. During these first few minutes, Wyatt G. made a nice defensive save, throwing himself in front of the puck to stop a potential early goal. Mason W. came out strong and made a couple of early shots on net but just couldn’t penetrate that goalie. Chase R. showed great hustle in the first two minutes, stealing the puck on a couple of occasions and sending it back down to their end. Ben W. was in fine form in the defensive line, thrwarting any attempt by the Ice Devils to penetrate our end. The first half of this period was intense. The Ice Devils were learning that this team was not giving up and they were having to work harder than they had ever worked before. Lincoln W. had a great steal, stopping an opposing player from a shot on net and Helmut A. made his first shot on goal, picking up a rebound after being perfectly placed in front of the net. With 4 minutes left to play, however, the Ice Devils scored the first goal of the game to take the early lead. This didn’t get out team down and Mason W. came out strong once again, making more shots on net than ever before, and our team stepped up defensively to stop any further goals from penetrating. This kept the Ice Devils at bay so that the first period ended with the Ice Devils up by 1. Corbin (“The Wall") Hughes was solid in goal and made some amazing shots to keep the Ice Devils from advancing even further.
The first half of the second period was a repeat of the first. Both teams were battling hard. Mason W. kept up his shots on net. Wyatt G. played strong both forward and backwards, showing strong skating abilities and perserverance. He was able to stop the Ice Devils in their offensive tracks, on many occasions. Joshua D., on defence, made some nicely placed shots up the boards to keep play away from our end. Paige O. had a great carry up the ice for her first shot on ice. Daichi McE. Also played strong both offensively and defensively, making some great steals. Grayden Z. had a solid breakaway and a great shot on net, which deflected and Mason W. picked it up for a second try. However, at 6:02, the Ice Devils scored again, upping their lead by 2. Any other team may have given up at this point but not Blakewood Construction. It seemed that the higher the score board went, the more determined our team was to made the Ice Devils work for any potential win. The remainder of the second period showed the best hockey that our team has played. Wyatt G. and Joshua D. played well defensively, thwarting the Ice Devils at every turn. All lines, both offensive and defensive, were giving it their all. With just two minutes left to play in this period, both Mason W. and Ben W. made a couple of solid shots on net to keep up out offensive ammunition. Beckett R. was right in there fighting for the puck and made a great pass to Lincoln W., who got a great shot on net and just hit the post. Chase R. also made some great offensive plays while Colton B. was strong defensively, keeping guard over our net and banging back in pucks threatening our end. In the last couple of minutes of play, our hard play seemed to get under their skin, as the Ice Devils incurred back to back penalties for tripping and body checking. So, the second period ended with the frustrated Ice Devils leading by a narrow 2 – 0.
Enough was enough for our Blakewood Construction Team and they came out determined to penetrate the net in that third period. And they did just that, just 12 seconds into the third period, Grayden Z., assisted by Mason W. slammed in a beautiful shot for our first goal of the game, reducing their lead to 1, and upsetting the Ice Devil’s record of having no goals scored against them during the entire tournament. Way to go team!! After this goal, you could see everyone on the team dipping into their reserves and trying even harder. Paige O. shone in the beginning of the period, having a great shot on net and also, a nice breakaway. Wyatt G. shot down the ice to steal the puck from an advancing Ice Devil to keep the score at 2. And while our victory was short lived as the Ice Devils plugged in another one at 11:56, our team kept the heat on the Ice Devils for the remainder of the game. Colton B. made some great steals to keep the puck away from our end. Both Helmut A. and Beckett R. made great passes to Mason W. to set him up for a shot on net. And then right away, Daichi McE, made a great pass to Grayden Z., who flipped it to Mason W. who once again, pelted the net with shots. Both Ben W. and Lincoln W. were everywhere they needed to be, playing forward and back, giving it their all. Despite the team’s best efforts, the Ice Devils scored again at the end of the third period, to win the game 4 – 1. But even then, in the last few seconds of play, Corbin H. made a phenomenal save as the clock ticked down. Amazing!