Little did the Waterloo Wolves know an early missed chance on
an open net would be the theme of the night…..missed opportunity and bad luck.
The reality of things hit them in the face with a 4 to 1
loss to the Cambridge Hawks Sunday night.
We could call it an emotional hangover after a big game to
start the weekend, but the fact remains the Wolves players need to bring their
A game night in and night out. We can credit the Hawks goalie who was stellar, fault
the Hockey Gods for bounces that never went our way, but in the end, the Wolves
simply needed to be better.
And let’s face it…..excuses are for losers.
It wasn’t all bad, however. There were waves of play where
you thought the Wolves were going to get going. It was sparked at the end of
the second period when Declan Uniac scored off a beautiful play with Cole
Hunsberger. Matthew Ball made a nice play in the Wolves end to get it going. Jack
Thompson had a nice take away that set up a rush from Ben Morton and Evan
Wallace just missed a rebound. Griffin Beddis made several net drives, and his
wingers Jack Mayne and Hunter McMurdo finished their checks.
Defensively, the Wolves were not terrible either. Jackson
McNichol continued his stellar play and was a beast in his end. Riley Webster
had a strong transition game. Jake Patterson pushed plays and was trying to get
the team going with his partner, Evan Walsh, who was getting pucks to the net
and up the ice. Jack Smith and Ethan Wasylyshyn were steady all game. Even in
net, you couldn’t fault Drew Cribbins who played well for his team.
Bad bounces, missed opportunities and a lack of urgency at
times by the Wolves cost them. It was a head scratcher and hopefully a lesson
learnt from the players. As the team looks to qualify for the AA they need to
understand there are no easy games. It doesn’t matter if you play the top seed
or bottom seed in this league. Every team competes and is capable of beating
you if you are not ready to play hard.
The coaches are confident the team will take the lessons and
push forward and inevitably be better moving forward.
Go Wolves!