Minor Atom MD Wolves are Tier 1 Division Champions!, News, Minor Atom, 2018-2019, BB (Waterloo Minor Hockey)

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This Team is part of the 2018-2019 season, which is not set as the current season.
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Mar 31, 2019 | James Thompson | 951 views
Minor Atom MD Wolves are Tier 1 Division Champions!
The Minor Atom MD Wolves have won the Tier 1 Division Championship!  It was a back-and-forth affair against our cross town rivals, the Kitchener Jr Rangers Red...

Game one in Waterloo on Friday evening was a tight battle, with the Wolves playing very hard offensively.  The scoring started with Kitchener getting one on the board in the second, followed soon after by a nice top corner shot from Ryan P.  The score would remain tied and so the game would go to overtime.  The Jr Rangers would keep the pressure on the Wolves, and late in extra time would get a face-off in the Wolves end.  The Rangers would win it and put a shot on net, and although saved, it was followed up with a scramble and would eventually find its way onto a Kitchener stick and into the net;  the Rangers would draw first blood, taking the first 2 points by a score of 2-1.

Game two moved to Kitchener on Saturday evening.  The Jr Rangers would come out flying, catching the Wolves flat footed early in the game.  Under constant pressure, the Wolves managed to get one solid offensive attack where Gavin A. ended up with the puck deep in the offensive zone and buried it top corner.  The Rangers would spend the rest of the first, and all of the second playing aggressive hockey that the Wolves did their best to handle.  The Wolves seemed to settle down in the third, and began to control the puck more, and were able to generate a couple decent offensive opportunities, but nothing would materialize.  The last 1.5 minutes of the game would feature an empty net and face-off after face-off in the Wolves zone.  After two close calls, the Wolves were able to clear the puck out to burn off the remaining time and tie up the series at 2 points apiece.

This would set the stage for a return to Waterloo for game three this afternoon.  In the previous two games, the boys were never quite as focused as they usually are in the pregame warm-ups and coaches talk.  This game however, the boys would return to form: they came into the dressing room full of energy as usual, but that energy was laser focused on the game ahead.  The boys would come out hot, putting pressure on the Rangers and setting the tone for the match.  Midway through the first, Gavin A would break down the left hand side, drawing the goalie over, only to put an excellent pass to Ryan P who made no mistake about it, putting it in the back of the net.  In the second, Callum T would grab the puck in the neutral zone and skate full speed ahead down the left hand side, beating the defense and putting a shot over the goalie’s pad on the far side.  The Rangers would pull together some serious offense with 6 minutes remaining the third.  For two straight shifts, the Wolves would play desperation hockey, just trying to keep the puck out of “our house”.  With 3 minutes remaining, the Wolves would begin to relieve some of the pressure and the series would end with a 2-0 Waterloo win!

It’s important to point out that whenever they were called, our defense was there to answer.   They stood up to rush after rush, and played with their hearts on their sleeves.  The third game featured our forwards playing their hardest of the series – they skated with full force both ways, helping our D by slowing, and sometimes stopping rushes all together.  However, our forwards owe a debt of gratitude in games one and two since they were a bit slower than usual, putting our D under more stress than they are used to.  Our blue line boys stood up to it, and then some – they should be mighty proud of themselves!   A special mention goes to Nohl A who played his best hockey of the season this series.

And this leads to a key story of the series - our two boys who strap on the pads and perform the highest stress job on the ice: keeping the net clear of pucks. This series, Josh C and Sam M would face 50 shots and turn all but two of them aside.  Although parents don’t get to see these two in our pregame routine, I can tell you that they don’t mess around: they focus themselves like clockwork and step onto the ice prepared for battle.  Our hats are off to them!      

Congratulations Gentlemen, every single one of you played your hearts out - the coaching staff, and I know all the parents, are extremely proud - you've earned all of the success you've had so far this season! 
You can take some time to celebrate (let's say until Monday evening, Tuesday tops!), but on Wednesday we turn our training up to high gear as we begin our preparations for the Alliance Championships in London.  The coaches want to see the boys focused and giving it their all in these last practices – Wolves never stop until the job is done!

-Coach James