The Riptide recorded a tie and a win against two hometown rival teams over the weekend.
On Friday night, the Riptide hosted Caledonia 1, a team full of big, strong skaters.
The Riptide faithful were excited to see their team get on the board first. Late in the first period, sniper Drew Pardy successfully netted his first tip-in of the year to see the Tide go up 1-0 (assisted by "grateful for his return" Owen Clarke, and center Jakob Kubisch). A great start to the weekend, but the Tide fans were kept on the edge of their seat as their players were not able to score again in the second period. Thankfully, the Tide defense kept the big boys of Caledonia 1 at bay for the second period, and the Tide entered the 3rd period still holding onto the narrowest of margins.
The 3rd period went scoreless until, about midway through the period, Caledonia 1 got on the board. Fans remained breathless for the rest of the game, as the Tide were able to fend off the big 'uns from Caledonia 1 and hold onto the tie. The game was frustrating for the spectators....the Tide struggled to play as a team. However, with a full-ice practice on the horizon the fans knew that the next game would be a different game to watch.
Sunday evening saw the Tide hosted by Caledonia "Swarm". As the group of friends took the ice the fans were again treated to an exciting first period which went scoreless until, at 1:21 on the clock, Owen Clarke banged a rebound in from a bouncing Ethan Ferreira shot. The floodgates opened, and the Tide found their groove. Midway through the second the fans were delighted to see Isaak Fisher net his first goal of the season, assisted by Clarke (have I mentioned how thrilled the fans are at his return?!?!) and Ferreira. And then late in the second, Jakob Kubisch scored his first point of the contest, assisted by the hard-working Zack Hall. The Tide were confident entering the 3rd period, up by three goals. The defense were stellar, yet again, and were determined to help goalie superstar Chris Chmiel record his second shutout of the season. Not a Swarm player could cross our blue line without being met by the powerful defensive duos of our awesome Riptide! The final nail in the coffin was provided by Clarke once again, as he pounced on another Ferreira rebound and added a fourth goal to the Tide total (and his 3rd point of the night). The Tide were, indeed, able to fight to the buzzer and keep the Swarm scoreless, and Chmiel successfully recorded shutout #2.
Of note in Sunday's game:
a) the fantastic shot ripped off by Alex Chmiel....how that blast did not get into the back of the net, we will never know!!
b) the significantly improved teamwork...once this team gets rolling, they could seriously be unstoppable!
c) the great passing and heads-up play by all Tide players, and especially from Jakob Kubisch. The team is SO MUCH STRONGER when all cylinders are firing and the Tide seizes the opportunities as they materialize on the ice. A point is a point, and for those stats-minded players, remember that goals and assists are measured equally on paper.....but a team win is ALWAYS worth two points! Woot! Woot! The Tide is a-rollin'!
The Riptide are next in action Sunday evening against Stoney Creek.
Go Tide!