The NorStar Novice Bears headed west to Wiarton for their first tournament of the year, the Austin Holley Fall Shootout. Friday night was full of good times and plenty of pool fun at the hotel in Owen Sound before Saturday morning brought the first game of the weekend against the Shelburne Wolves.
The game was hard fought with Shelburne's larger players clogging up their defensive zone blocking many shots while Koby K stood tall between the pipes for the NorStar squad. A couple of lucky bounces later saw the Wolves come out on top 2-0. Willow D was chosen by the Wolves coaching staff as the Bears mvp of the game.
With a tight division the Bears knew a better effort would be needed if there was going to be any chance at the gold medal game on Sunday. Saturday night drew the Ice Dogs from Arron-Ederslie and Bears were hungry to get back in the win column. Tyson J opened the scoring 17 seconds into the game unassisted. Three minutes later Owen S was able to get the puck to Braydon R who fed Ty for his second goal of the game. Cohen C potted the Bears third goal less than a minute later after Willow D and Bennett C were able to find the little firecracker the puck. Little did we know this was just the beginning.
The Blue line connected for two more goals before the period was finished. Jake R got in on the action while Tyson picked up the hat trick. They traded assists on each others while hard skating Braydon R started both tallies digging the puck free along the boards and in the corners.
Period number two started the same as number one had ended, with the Bears again finding the back of the net as Willow D and Bennett C set Cohen C up for his second of the game. The green line wasn't to be out done as a lead pass from Alex S to Jackson M who gained the offensive zone and got the puck to Hudson WF who bulged the twine for the teams seventh goal. Some more back and forth play, solid defence from Chase G and tough board play from Owen H continued to keep the Ice dogs at bay. The period would see the Bears light the lamp two more times as Willow D picked up her third apple of the game with the help of her D partner Owen S on Jake's second of the night. Hudson WF finished the frame off with a great individual effort. He was able to skate end to end to become the fourth multi scoring forward of the game with a period still to go. Some switching of the lines with the Bears leading 9-0 saw a quieter third period with Bennett C adding his third assist on Carter I sharp wrister. Declan I turned aside everything thrown his way and earned the first shut out of his young career. The Bears hit double digits for the first time this season winning 10-0 and the kids were back in it with Hudson WF being award the game mvp by the Ice Dogs bench staff
Sunday brought about a must win game in the morning against the previously undefeated Shallow Lake Lakers who were leading the division. The Bears were well rested this time and came out strong. Coach D reminded the team before the game that coaches can teach skills but only the players can decide the effort and hustle they want to put forth in each game. Well Hustle they did, turning in what was easily the game of the year to date. Each and every player skated faster than they have ever skated and fought for pucks like they hadn't fought for pucks before. Three minutes into the game Jake R used his blazing speed to give himself a break away and made no mistake to open the scoring. On the next shift Alex S put one past the line with the help of Bennett C and the Bears were ahead by two. With momentum on their side a shot by Willow D deflected to Bennett C who fed a perfect pass to Cohen C who continued his goal scoring ways getting a third one past the Lakers goalie for a commanding lead that the Bears would refuse to give up. A commitment to playing at both ends of the rink by everyone and some stellar goaltending again from Koby K brought home the win and with it a chance to come out first in the division and earn a spot in the gold medal game. The Lakers awarded Cohen C the game mvp. Some quick math worked in NorStar's favour having the least amount of goals against and earning this hard working squad the first seed.
The final match up was the fourth game in two days and brought the teams toughest opponent to date, the Lucan Fighting Irish. The first period saw the Bears down by two goals but running out of steam. A hard shot off the foot of goalie Declan I saw him have to leave the game and the Bears couldn't recover falling 8-1 in the final. Jake R was given the mvp award due to some spectacular back checking that saved the score from being any higher.
All in all it was a successful weekend and first tournament with many positives and lessons learned. The potential for this group is limitless and they will continue to rise and grind towards their goals. This coming weekend will see a rematch against the Penetang Flames and the top team from the West, the Midland Flyers. Come on out and cheer this great group of kids on.