Norstar Novice Rep News - Fourth Edition - Nov. 5/17
Saturday,
Oct. 29th saw the Norstar Novice Rep. team travel to Midland to face
off against the Centennials for the second time this season. On the first
occasion, the score was 5 – 4, with the Bears losing by just one goal. The team was ready for a rematch!
Right from the opening face-off, the Bears took
control. Within the first minute of
play, Jack G. scooped the puck while in our end, sent it flying around the
boards, where it was picked up by Jack McG. who swooped in, carried it the
length of the ice on a breakaway, deking past any Centennial who tried to put
up resistance, and clocked our first goal of the day, only 30 seconds in!! What a way to start!!
Our offensive lines had lots of steam this period and many good plays were made. Oliver A. caught a great pass for a quick breakaway on his end and during this period, he was constantly fighting for the puck and never stood still. Hudson W. was also instrumental in battling for the puck and his shots up the boards set up many great plays. The defensive duo of Grayden Z. and Jack G. were perfectly in position this period, defending the net from any potential threat and on numerous occasions kept the puck from penetrating our end. Kye D., our goalie for the first two periods, was solid and quick, earning himself a shut out in this period, which kept the Bears in the lead at the end of one period.
For the entire second period, both teams battled it out. They were even in play and kept each other on their toes. The defensive tandem of Wyatt G. and Joshua D. were strong this period. Not only did they chase down and stop any advancing Cents, they were busy clipping the puck back down the boards to keep play from their end. Joshua also picked up a rebound and made a valiant attempt at a breakaway. Jack McG. also swooped in again to pick up the puck in front of our net, to take another breakaway going from end to end, deking around four Cents’ until he got caught just in front of the Cent’s net. Phenix C., Lincoln W. and Evan A. had numerous chances this period; all were quick on their feet and right in there battling for the puck. Kye D. put in another impressive period in net, earning himself another shut out period and the scored remained 1 – 0 for us.
In the third period, each side gave it their all. In the first minute of play, the Cents took a hard shot on net, however Corbin H., thwarting their chance to tie it up, jumped on it. Joshua D. muscled out some Cents to get possession of the puck. It was picked up by Wyatt G., who had a great breakaway, carrying it all the way back to the Cent’s end, where Hudson W. also took a whack at the net, to keep the Bear’s offensive steam going. However the Cents prevailed when, with only 9 minutes left to play, they tied it up – taking away the Bear’s advantage. The remainder of the third period saw each side digging in. Colton H. was instrumental in chasing down the puck and didn’t shy away from trying to steal it from the Cents. Charlie D. was also quick to get into the scrum, trying to steal the puck as often as he could. Corbin H. made another great save to keep the Cents from advancing. Grayden Z. picked up that deflected puck and had an awesome breakaway, carrying it up to the Cent’s blue line. With only minutes left to play, Evan A. picked up the puck at our blue line, and flanked by Lincoln W., carried it up for hit shot on net, which was thwarted. The offensive attack by the Bears continued, with Jack G. making a well placed pass up the boards to Jack McG., who launched into another breakaway, leaving Cents in his trail to take another shot on net, and when it missed, he picked up the deflection and tried again. Likewise, Evan A. picked up a nicely placed pass from Colton H. to take his shot at a breakaway. He came within inches of the net but we just couldn’t penetrate their goalie and his efforts to pick up the rebound were thwarted by the Cents. The last few minutes saw a great play, where Wyatt G. passed to Phenix C., who punted it to Jack McG. for his shot on net, Phenix picked up the rebound to try and poke it in; Jack picked up the next rebound for his attempt at poking it in – but the goalie wasn’t giving an inch!! In the last two minutes of play, Jack McG. tried again, flanked by Charlie D., had another breakaway which just missed by a hair…this was intense…was it going to end in our first tie…??? However with just over 20 seconds left to play, the Cents got another goal – to up their lead by one. In response, our team upped the ante and used those last seconds well, Jack McG., made a final valiant shot on net, as well as Wyatt G., to get that elusive last goal to tie it up but once again the Cent’s goalie prevailed and the clock ticked down to the final buzzer with the Bears at the short end of a 2-1 final score.
While that last goal was certainly heartbreaking to watch from everyone’s perspective, what was evident throughout is that both sides played well and provided an intense hockey game that was great to watch. The Bears played to their potential throughout; not letting the early lead lessen their resolve and even when the game tied, they kept up the pace, energy and enthusiasm and played like a great team. Way to go Bears!!