Well it was a fortnight to remember...
Well it was a fortnight to remember....no no no not that blasted game that has been keeping the team awake at all hours....we meant the last two weeks of hectic hockey action!
Just as the mighty Grand rolls along sweeping aside all obstacles barring it's path to the big thunder and beyond so too is Caledonia's Pee Wee Rep Thunder rolling along and over any opposition on a farsighted quest of their own. Grinding out hard fought victories shift after shift and game after game has been the norm so far for this tenacious band of brothers......when they find the time/energy to trade in their joy stix for hockey stix. Our Thunder are in the top 3 winning percentages of all 225 teams listed in their category under the rankings. In addition, we have allowed the least amount of goals against out of that 225 teams! That right #1! That is impressive and our team should be proud of their effort on the defensive end. Defense and back checking are hard work, but win championships!
Scores of 2-1, 1-0, 3-0, 3-2, and more 2-1's are most evident evidence of the tight nature of these nail biting contests and it all starts back in the defensive zone for this squad. Nick and Nolan (dial 'N' for 'No' Goals) have combined to consistently give their team a chance to win every game with big saves and solid all round net minding of the highest degree whilst all around them the league's best defense makes their job as easy as they can with an iron clad mind set to keep the enemy under wraps, remove the puck from their possession, and quickly get it the heck out of harm's way. Evan, Shane D., Benny, and Ryan L. have all equally shared the load and done a fabulous job, awesome switch for Evan sliding back to the blue line from center and not losing a beat...or his penchant for fearlessly charging into corners with bad intent.
Aiding and abetting this bastion of defenders are our relentlessly skating/back checking forward lines of high octane energy who when not ripping pucks away (ie: Shayne H. Archie, Ashton, Devon, and Aiden) from hapless opponents are buzzing the opposition goalies with regularity. The goals are extremely difficult to come by at playoff time but as long as we have one more than the other guys all is well, as 7 goals in the last 4 victories can attest to. Did i say thanks Nolan/Nick yet? Those hard earned scores have been nicely spread throughout the front lines with big moments for many. Ryan S.'s incredible efforts have been rewarded with some 3rd period drama: a game winner, a contest tying assist, and he outworked his man to draw a penalty which resulted in a winning power play goal up in Simcoe. Creating his own personal anti-Ryan fan club in Tillsonburg hasn't been easy for Ryan P., but hard work and effort have paid huge dividends of late. He personally torpedoed the Tornados out of the OMHA's this Sunday past with the lone marker (huge assist Aiden) and previously in his first game up on the wing he potted the equalizer in the dying minutes again against the Tillsonburgers. More huge goals came off of the sticks of the usual suspects, Jake, Cole and Shayne, all very much needed and of the beauteous variety. Thus far it has been a great and complete team/family effort from the water boy (awesome job Paul) to the ever-swelling fan base with much more exciting action to follow.
That action continues this Wednesday at home to Tillsonburg (again?) in Ingersoll Thursday and home again Saturday to Simcoe.....weren't there some child labour laws passed back in the 19th century? Maybe the law firm of B.'s M. (benny and mom) could look into this for us....after the playoffs.
And (never start a sentence with and) a nod of the face mask to those boys from Tillsonburg, we all love to see our guys smiling and successful but geez those kids played their hearts out there too. Terrific games and here they come again.
Written by: Robin Pozzo