ATOMc Blue’s first house league game after winning the Major Atom division championship at the Neil Barker Thunder Classic Memorial Tournament in London was against the very dangerous ATOMc Black team, and the boys hit the ice at the Waterloo Rec Centre ready to go!
The larger ice surface at the
Rec Centre opened up play for more skating, giving fast-moving forwards more
space to get around even well-positioned defencemen, and this is what happened when
Black scored their first goal of the game.
Two opposing forwards skated hard towards the Fireballs’ net with one
Blue defender between them. The oncoming
puck carrier decided to hold on to the puck, and his well-placed shot ended up
in the net, giving his team an early one goal lead.
Two-and-a-half minutes later,
Blue evened the score, when Jett S. carried the puck quickly into the opposing
team’s end and passed it swiftly to Mason D.
Mason looked around quickly to catch Jackson M. breaking for the front
of the net, and his heads-up play resulted in Jackson redirecting the puck into
the net to tie the game at one goal apiece.
The Blue Fireballs were
rejuvenated by this picture-perfect goal, and they persisted with their
aggressive style of offensive play. When
around the Black team’s net, Matthew M. and Ryan S. showed their dedication to
the cause by refusing to give up, as they continued to dig for the puck until
the whistle was blown. From the other
perspective, their centerman, Riley D., presented his commitment through his
efforts to skate hard and back check in the neutral zone and ATOMc Blue’s
defensive end.
The back-and-forth play
continued as the first period continued, and Black regained the lead less than
two minutes after the Fireballs had tied it up, when a strong shot from a sharp
angle just made it into the corner of the net.
However, Blue refused to give up, as the boys returned to their
positions and continued to do what they do best. For example, on defence, Michael R. and Josh
R. stood tall on the blue line, refusing to allow the puck to rest in their
defensive zone for long. Both made sure
that they were first to the puck and used their dramatically different but
equally effective shots to help clear the zone and set up offensive
opportunities.
With just over one-and-a-half
minutes remaining in the period, the Fireballs’ efforts paid off, as the line
of Halen R., James R. and Sam Z. broke into the Black team’s end and set up
their positions in front of the net. The
puck moved quickly from one to the other, as each member of the team seemed to
touch it at least once before James released a great shot from the goal line which
hit its target dead on and just squeaked into the net to tie the game. At the end of the first period, the score sat
at 2-2.
As the second period began, it
was evident that all ATOMc Blue players wanted to help score the goal that
would put their team up by one. The boys
were taking advantage of every possible opportunity to get a shot on net. Lucas B., Jackson M. and Jett S. set the
stage, as they caught Black off guard and pushed towards their crease as a
trio. It seemed as if all three of the
boys took at least one shot on net during the thirty seconds the attack
lasted. Unfortunately for the Fireballs,
the Black goalie was on his game, and he stood on his head to keep the game
tied at two.
This period displayed excellent
defensive efforts by both teams. For
ATOMc Blue, Carson A. was on fire, as he turned away any Black player who even
thought about approaching him. During
his shifts, opposing players found that their offensive attempts were for
naught, as Carson seemed to effortlessly strip them of the puck and send the
play back in the other direction.
Tony R. and Calder W. remained
consistently strong, as they both continued to play the game that had led them
to success for much of this season. Both
refused to give up when faced with the challenge of a Black player in
possession of the puck, and they regularly ended up successfully sending the
puck up the boards to their wingers, who shot or passed the puck out of the
danger zone towards a potential scoring opportunity. These efforts helped the ATOMc Blue Fireballs
with their balanced efforts during the second period, and this ten minute frame
ended with the score remaining 2-2.
As the third period got
underway, the ATOMc Blue defensive efforts continued. Jett S. contributed by back-checking
relentlessly to keep one of the Black forwards on any given line tied up,
allowing the defence to take care of the other two.
That being said, Luke C. found
himself busier and busier as the period continued. He made several excellent and entertaining
saves, particularly with his gloved-hand and his blocker, to keep the game
tied.
However, as the clock ticked
away, the Black team seemed to be able to pour it on as the Fireballs appeared
to be tiring. Just shy of five minutes
into the frame, Black scored when one of their players beat the defence on the
outside and swept in front to put one in the net. Four minutes later, the same Black player
made it 4-2, when he took advantage of a long Blue shift during which they
struggled to clear the zone, by scoring on an excellent wrist shot. Although Blue had played a strong early part
of the game, the big ice and their hard skating had got the best of them, and
the game went to a well-deserving Black team… this time!
In the dressing room, an early
morning dessert caused the boys to forget about their loss almost immediately,
as they turned their attention to helping Luke C. celebrate his birthday. Good effort today, boys! Get a good sleep tonight so your heads are in
the game for tomorrow, when we play the only team we haven’t yet beaten: ATOMc
Green! See you at 9:30am at Albert
McCormick West!