The PW Wolves were magically transported to Sarnia on a beautiful bus for their return to Sarnia on Sunday.
The trip afforded the Wolves and some parents the time to catch up on inspirational football movies while on the road, as well as on the way back, to recall and record the highlights of the game from the players' perspective. These are recorded below in their words, with only a few edits (mostly because the recorder has no idea what some of it means).
A highlight for a number of players was the dynamic start to the game, in which the stellar starting line teamed up to score the first goal of the game in style, with a fabulous pass from Brayden to Ty E, who was striding down the ice and fed the breakaway to Connor M who smoothly received, shot and scored the first goal of the match only 30 seconds into the game.
A second goal came when Sarnia lost the puck to Hayden at the point, who shot high and straight at the net. Parker "the Boss" was in front of the net and (cleverly avoiding the high sticking call) tipped it down to the bottom corner for the second goal, partnering on the goal but not stealing the credit from Hayden, who made some brilliant defensive plays blocking shots.
Ben "the Beaut" got some ice time and wasn't counting shots that game. One of the nicest team efforts came when he won a battle against a larger opponent, passed it off to Connor L, who slap-passed it to Justin in front of the net, who then redirected it in for the Wolves' third goal of the game.
Sam was pretty happy with his efforts on the faceoffs, winning a good share of them by getting lower and stronger on the puck, though he thinks he could use a bit more work on taking his man through the draw.
Defensive efforts were strong, both from the D and the F lines, with a particularly memorable moment, according to one player, occurring when "10 foot Brayden put a guy on his tush". Equally exciting to others was the great effort involving a battle in one corner of the Wolves' end, with Connor L cannily protecting the net, so that when the battle was won by the Sting player who then passed the puck in front of the net to the winger on the opposite side, he was ready to spring into action, and slid across and blocked the shot, saving a certain goal. Andy also had a great game, his aggressive attitude winning some key battles in the corners.
And Ty W had another great game in net, totally robbing a guy with his glove, and earning hearty accolades for his quick hands from the opposing players – although the Sarnia players reportedly did not always use entirely salubrious language, according to report of one Wolf (though the circumstances may have contributed somewhat).
The Wolves had been out in front from the first goal, and led 2-1 at the start of the final period, when the Sting stung back and managed to go up. Despite several penalties against Sarnia late in the third, and a lot of pressure from the Wolves, the puck just refused to go in for the team, with Caden recalling a particular heartbreaker when, with a minute to go, he hit the post off a slapper. At the final buzzer, the scoreline read 4-3 to the Sting.
We also got some overall assessments of the game from some big picture thinkers. Said one: "I think we had a lot of chances to put the puck in the net, but the Sting goalie came up with some awesome saves, and we just couldn't quite finish some plays off." Another: "We had lots of good chances to score, but couldn't find an opening while also possessing the puck. It was frustrating that whenever I had a good opportunity, the shot went wide." And a third: "There were a lot of positives, especially with some good passing and one- timers that we've been practicing in training." And one last, but essential contribution was noted: "I think I kept the bench warm really well, and that helped us keep the pace up."
Good job Wolves, well get them next time!