Once again, the Waterloo Wolves put in the effort needed and
played in a fashion that will lead to victories but ended with a 1-1 tie against
the London Jr Knights.
Nobody likes a tie. But, hey, when you travel an hour with a
team missing five roster players to face the top seed and you play inspired
hockey, you can live with a tie.
From a coach’s perspective you couldn’t be prouder of the
players in the game. First off, the defenders, all four of them, played a lot
of minutes and made very few mistakes. Jake Patterson, Jackson McNichol, Riley Webster
and Evan Walsh were outstanding.
Sam Miller was as steady as you could ask in net as well.
Surrendering a single goal against and battling for pucks all night. Miller was
a leader on the ice and his calm demeanor relaxed his teammates.
The Wolves had Jack Smith move from defense to forward in
the game and was a nice compliment to Griffin Beddis and Jack Mayne. Beddis
laid the hit on the game destroying a Knight player behind their net, Mayne struck
the post, and the trio buzzed all game.
You couldn’t convince me differently that the level of
commitment to hard work was not set by the team’s Captain, Matthew Ball. His blue-collar
approach and lead by example effort is contagious. His wingers, Ben Morton and
Jack Thompson, were equally deserving of credit for their efforts and ability
to wear the Knights down.
It was five long periods of no scoring for the Wolves. A lot
of shots and a lot of generating of chances but zero luck. Fortunately, with a
goal scorer like Evan Wallace you know a goal will come in time, and Wallace
finally scored from Declan Uniac and Cole Ledgister. You knew it was coming with
how the line was pushing the pace and creating opportunities.
Obviously, we want and need to win games. But, when you have
a slump, which everyone knows we have had, you need a starting point. You need something
to spark you and remind you that you are still a team with the ability to win
Alliance. This coaching staff has never
given up that believe, and the players are showing neither have they!
Go Wolves!