The final
game of the regular season was in Hanover against a Falcons team the Blades had
yet to tangle with. Having had good
success leading up to this game, the Blades had every intension to win this
final tilt. The boys had said they were
ready to dig deep and play hard to meet their objective, but the game did not
start with the fire we had hoped for. It
seemed as though the day’s events had zapped the energy out of both teams as
neither team could mount a strong offence.
The only goal of the game came with one and a half minutes left to go in
the third when the last of the Falcons defense blew a tire allowing Spencer B.
to walk in all alone from a feed by Jon E. to give the Blades the win to put
them tied for fourth in the North standings.
The next game the Blades would play would be against Lucknow in the South Bruce PeeWee LL tournament in Teeswater. It did not take long to tell that the Blades meant business as they found a way to rekindle the energy they had been playing with leading up to this tournament. The Blades hard work paid off less than four minutes into the first period as they would score a shorthanded goal to take the lead. The second period was full of end to end action with neither team willing to give up the next goal. Just over three minutes into the third the Blades would be rewarded with their second goal of the game to take a 2-0 lead. The constant pressure and hard work by the Blades would earn them another goal with four minutes left and another with just over two minutes left. Not ready to throw in the towel, Lucknow would get a lucky bounce in the dying seconds of the game to spring them on a breakaway that would result in a goal with one second on the clock spoiling a perfect game, but still giving the Blades a 4-1 victory.
Player of the game for the Blades was Jon E. Point getters in the game were Rheyd P., Spencer B., Jeffrey K., Brayden L., Tyson D. and Shawn B.
Having won the first game of the tournament meant that the Blades had to continue to win or hockey for the day was done. The second opponent the Blades would face would be Ripley, who in previous meetings had split the games with the same score. This was sure to be a close and interesting game and it would be the team who wanted it more that would come out on top. Both teams were evenly matched as they played hard at both ends of the ice, neither team able to find a way to get the first marker. It was not until late in the first period when the Blades found a chink in the armor to get the first goal of the game with 22 seconds to go. All fired up with the late goal the Blades would start the second, on fire, scoring three goals almost three minutes apart while the Blades net minder would turn away or smother anything that came his way to keep Ripley off the score board. The Blades would start the third with the same fire and passion they displayed in the first and second periods resulting in what would be the final goal of the game giving the Blades a 5-0 victory and a berth in the “A” side finals.
Player of the game was Dan S. Point getters in the game were Jon E., Shawn B., Cayden H., Travis S., Owen S., Logan G., Tyson D. and Kyle H.
The final game of the tournament was sure to be worth the price of admission. The Blades, who were playing their best hockey yet and a confident West Grey team who beat Shallow Lake in overtime to earn their spot in the finals. The Blades team was fired up and ready go with an unusual play that was designed to give the Blades an early lead to start the game. The play was executed almost perfectly with the exception of not beating the Warriors net minder. The entire Blades team played well, keeping the Warriors at bay for two periods of fast intense hockey while generating quality chances just not able to beat the Warriors goalie. Just over a minute into the third the Warriors would get a lucky bounce to spring them on a breakaway that resulted in the first goal of the game. The Blades would keep their calm and continue to push for the equalizer and with less than two minutes to go and the net empty the Blades would mount an attack that would make an army general proud. What seemed like an eternity and a loose puck in the crease it is amazing that the Warriors found a way to keep the puck out to win the game despite the onslaught from the Blades, giving the Warriors a 1-0 victory.
Player of the game went to Cayden H.
Despite the loss in the final game the coaches could not be more proud of the effort put forth by Owen S., Connor S., Nolan S., Kiefer S., Travis S., Rheyd P., Chris M., Brayden L., Jeffrey K., Cayden H., Kyle H., Logan G., Jon E., Tyson D., Shawn B., Spencer B. and Dan S.
The coaches look forward to seeing this effort and momentum carry forward to next weekend’s UTL outdoor tournament in Peterborough and playoffs when we get back!