And Out Come the Wolves . . .
The Waterloo Wolves sprung into the New Year with a pair of
wins collecting 11 goals and only surrendering two goals against in games that
showcased the closest thing the team has had to a full roster.
Finally.
The team was only missing Dell Wang and Ciaran
Guitton-Quayle in the teams 6 to 1 win over the London Jr Knights White and added
Antonio Parisi to the missing in action (flu) for the 5 to 1 win over the
Stratford Warriors. But the good news is, all three are expected back this
week!
It didn’t take Logan Landry long to make an impact in his
first game back. Landry not only showcased his smarts chipping a puck past the
Knights defender and using his speed to break in alone to score but was a
menace all over the ice with his speed breaking up plays in the neutral zone and
creating chances. Ben Schofield picked up where he left off scoring with Hiatt
Rich and Casey Ross getting assists. Grayson Seiling converted an Owen Ottens
pass for a goal. Antonio Parisi undressed the Knights defenders to score a solo
effort goal. Ross scored on a beautiful stretch pass from Logan Murtha as he
sped in and made no mistakes. Ottens also had a helper on the goal. Seiling
capped the scoring off from Reed Rozema and Allan Wang.
Ross led the charge in Stratford with a hattrick, scoring
the first two goals in the game on snipes! His first and third goals were set
up by Landry and Schofield and Schofield added another assist on the second
goal. Schofield then scored a goal with Ross returning the favour and Rozema
scored from Wang.
The Wolves played fast all weekend. Making smart short
passes and using their speed and tenacious attack. Carter Talboom killed
penalties and was relentless on the forecheck. Cam Murray was reliable in every
situation finishing hits and making smart simple plays. There was a lot to like
from the forward group.
A couple of huge additions on the defense made a massive difference
as well. Captain Murtha was back patrolling the zone. Ben Sawyer finally returned
and reminded everyone why he is so valuable with a clean but vicious hit on a
Knight player running around taking cheap shots. It sets the tone. Christopher
Ding’s speed and creativity helped the Wolves break out with ease. It must have
been nice for Ottens, Jackson Hunter and Cole Gardiner to finally not be
counted on to do it all alone. Hunter celebrated his birthday over the weekend,
and his coaches celebrated his consistent reliability. Ottens was the same
steady play pushing producer and Gardiner made several key headman passes to
help his team generate offense.
With Guitton-Quayle out, the Wolves counted on Jake Howard
to play in both games with Rowan McGill backing him up in Waterloo and no back
up in Stratford. Howard was Howard. Calm, collective, steady and reliable. The
Wolves counted on him all weekend and not even a second did he not control
every play.
There is still a lot of rust to knock off but it was really
fantastic for the coaches to have so many weapons for a change and give them
the chance to really work on how they need the team to play to be successful.
The players have been patient with the coaches as they try new things and see
where the pieces fit best.
Here’s to a New Year with a healthy squad that’s ready to
work hard and challenge for that Alliance banner!
Go Wolves!