The ATOMc Blue Fireballs and ATOMc Black had had a great rivalry all season long, and both teams usually brought out the best in the other. These two teams took to the ice on Sunday morning for each team’s second last game of the regular season. After shaking hands at center ice, Lucas B., Jackson M. and Jett S. remained on the ice to take the face-off, as did Michael R. and Josh R. on the blue line. Luke C. was as ready as always in his crease, and the game got underway with the initial puck drop.
Lucas B. shot out of the gate
like he had rockets on his skates! He
seemed to be all over the ice, zooming forward with the puck or checking his
opposition to steal it back. He had an
excellent start to the game!
However, although Lucas and the
other players seemed to be moving well, the puck was not, as it seemed somewhat
sluggish on the ice. On several
occasions, when the boys tried to clear the zone, it seemed as if the puck
would move a couple feet and then slow to a stop just shy of the line. This was a challenge that caused both teams
some problems and led to a few unforeseen turnovers in the early minutes of the
game.
Although the ice seemed to be holding
back the puck, it was not restricting the Black team, as they flew all over the
ice and seemed to be dominating early on.
In order to combat this, the Fireballs’ defencemen had to be razor sharp. Tony R. and Calder W. had played much of the
season together on the blue line, and they had become very familiar with each
other’s style. While on the attack, both
players masterfully stood guard at the top of the zone, doing their best to
prevent anything from escaping. However,
when ATOMc Black carried into the neutral zone, both Blue players offset each
other well, with one pinching and the other dropping back as a secondary line
of defence.
Michael R. was back after
missing a few games due to basketball commitments, and he slipped right back
into his defensive role alongside Josh R.
Both boys contributed to their team’s scoring efforts by getting shots
from the point, and Michael showed that he had not lost a step by stripping his
opposition of the puck numerous times with perfectly timed poke checks.
Despite these great efforts,
Black seemed to be on fire today, as they broke down the ice at top speed,
often leaving the Fireballs chasing behind.
On a number of occasions, Luke C. found himself facing three-on-twos,
with multiple opposition players bearing in on him at once. It was a situation such as this that brought
about the first goal of the game just shy of the period’s halfway point, as
Black outnumbered Blue and put one in the net.
For the remainder of the period,
both teams played tough hockey, and neither could make much headway. One player who presented some extremely
gritty play was Sam Z., who showed his effectiveness when it came to the
breakout, moving the puck through the neutral zone and getting himself open for
passes in front of the net. Great
efforts such as Sam’s helped the Fireballs earn more scoring chances in the
last few minutes of the first period while also preventing ATOMc Black from
getting any more themselves.
At the start of the second
period, the ATOMc Blue Fireballs seemed to come to life. Right from the moment the puck hit the ice,
the boys set their eyes of the Black net and evening the score. On the first shift, a scoring opportunity by
Halen R. led to a Black player taking a penalty to prevent it. Although the same aggressive play that the
boys had shown persisted throughout the two-minute advantage, no goals were
scored, and the game continued to favour the opposition… until 6:36 of the
second period! The teams lined up to the
left of ATOMc Black’s net. When the puck
was dropped, Jett S. surprised their goalie by immediately rifling the puck in
his direction. Caught off guard, the
shot eluded the netminder and found its way to the back of the net to tie the
game at one.
Just over one minute later, the
score changed again! With Riley D.
surrounded along the side boards near the corner of ATOMc Black’s zone, there
seemed to be nowhere for him to go.
However, his keen eyes saw an outlet, and he passed the puck to the
front of the net, where both Matthew M. and Ryan S. were cruising like sharks
waiting for food. Both boys dug in to
take advantage of the opportunity, and it was Ryan who got his stick on the
puck first, causing it to trickle over the goal line and put his team up by
one.
Unfortunately, the Fireballs got
a little too comfortable with this one-goal lead, and Black turned up the heat
to even the score. The opposition took
full advantage of this chance, and they scored three quick goals over the next
three-and-a-half minutes.
Although this stretch ended in a
4-2 ATOMc Black lead, ATOMc Blue collected themselves and displayed some strong
teamwork during this time. At one point,
Mason D. made a smart decision to pinch along the boards to maintain the
Fireballs’ offensive attack. As he pushed
forward, Riley D. slipped back into Mason’s vacated spot, showing a high degree
of awareness and a sense of responsibility towards his team.
Before the period was out, Blue
had two more great scoring opportunities.
On one play, Jett S. fed an accurate cross-ice pass to Jackson M. who
was breaking across the blue line on the left wing. Following this play, Josh R. released a
beautiful wrist shot from the point, nearly bringing his team to within
one. However, an attentive ATOMc Black
netminder prevented these goals with strong, quick saves. The second period came to a conclusion with
Black in possession of a two-goal lead.
As the third period got
underway, both teams seemed to be playing solid hockey, and neither ran away
with the clear advantage. Both teams had
several opportunities, and both teams’ goalies came up big for them. For example, Luke C. made two huge plays in
the first couple of minutes to keep his team from falling into a greater
deficit. The first was not so much a
save on a shot but more of a preventative effort, as he gloved an airborne pass
as it crossed in front of the net.
Second, just moments later, he saved a great shot from the point that
had snuck its way through the crowd in front of him.
Lucas B. had been skating hard
all game, and he continued to do so in the third period. Along with his linemates, Jackson M. and Jett
S., Lucas worked to be first to the puck, and all three of them were playing
strong two-way hockey, pushing aggressively in the offensive zone and getting
back to help check players in the defensive end, as well.
On defence, the boys stayed
strong and did everything they could to stop ATOMc Black early and keep them
away from Blue’s net. On one shift, when
the puck was stuck in the neutral zone with multiple players from each team
fighting for it, Tony R. pushed into the middle of the pack and scattered the
opposition’s players like a child chasing seagulls on a beach.
Michael R. did his part to help
the Fireballs catch up by pinching at Black’s blue line to keep his team on the
offensive. His powerful shot put the
puck deep in the opposition’s zone several times, and gave his wingers further
chances to score. On one shift,
Michael’s efforts at the point led to Halen R. digging hard for the puck in the
corner and passing it out front to James R.
Although James’s shot was a strong one, the Black goalie played his
position well, and prevented this attempt from counting against his team.
Down at the other end of the
rink, Luke C. had his turn to shine as the game wound down. With less than half a period remaining, Luke
found two ATOMc Black players bearing in on him on a two-on-one. However, he stood his ground and faced this
challenge head on and made a great save to help keep his team in the game.
The next shift, Carson A. made
one of his trademark plays in the neutral zone to turn the teams around and
head back in Black’s direction. Using
his fantastic poke check, Carson stunned the opposing player by knocking the
puck off his stick and into the center ice area. Mason D. surged forward and grabbed the puck,
deking this way and that around several ATOMc Black players until he found the
path between he and the net relatively clear.
He released a beautiful shot at the perfect time, but, once again, the
other team’s goalie was on the ball, and made the save.
Unfortunately, this game, the
Fireballs found ATOMc Black a bit overwhelming, and the opposition scored one
more before the game ended with a final score of 5-2. In the change room, for of his consistently
strong effort and all-round outstanding play, Lucas B. received the game’s Gold
jersey.
Black outplayed us today,
boys. However, on a positive note, this
game can be a learning experience for us as we head into the final tournament
in a couple of weeks. It’s better to
lose this game now and use the experience to improve than lose during the
finals when there are no further chances to benefit from the lessons.
Next weekend, we have a 7:00am
practice, our last one of the season, on Saturday morning at Albert McCormick
East. Then, at 7:30 Sunday morning,
we’re meeting ATOMc Green at Albert McCormick West for our final game of the
regular season. Including the Fun
Festival, we’ve only got three weeks left, so let’s make every game a good one! See everyone on Saturday!