This past weekend's Clifford Tourney was the greatest challenge to date for our Huskies. The accomplishments of the team continues to stack up and the continuous effort and support for one another has been solidified.
Game 1 - New Hamburg vs. Ayr… Win 5-2
The boys opened the 1 day tourney against a formidable Ayr squad. Not to be taken lightly, the boys gave their best effort right off the opening faceoff. Both teams struggled to get shots on goal for the first period as each defensive tandem looked great. It wasn’t until 1:42 left in the first period the first goal of the game was scored. Unfortunately the point went on the Ayr side of the scoreboard. The goal seemed to only inspire the boys as it only took 20 seconds for them to knot the score at 1 by a pass up the middle from Max to Brendan who snapped the puck into the Ayr net.
The scoring continued into the second period as Brendan sighted in the crosshairs and popped 2 more goals within a 30 second span. Riley Gerber earned an assist on the second goal with a nice pass off the side boards that broke Brendan out. The period ended with our boys up 3-2 but the Ayr team seemed to be pressing.
The third period was all about effort and applying pressure in the Ayr end. Jayden Cook-Reiner took off the goalie pads for this game and joined the front lines as an extra forward. His effort was rewarded as he took a pass from Brendan deep in the Ayr zone and rifled a wrister that beat the Ayr goalie to put our boys up by 2 and we didn’t look back. Sammy also got into the action with 5 minutes left in the game to keep his point streak alive as he took a pass from his winger partner Riley and potted another goal to close out the game with a 5-2 victory. The win put the boys into the “A” side of the tournament board.
A Division Semi-Final vs. Hanover LL2
This was one of the best games we have seen thus far in our hockey season. The 2 teams were perfectly matched with scoring power, good defense and solid goaltending at both ends. Hanover came out of the gate firing on all cylinders. Our boys seemed to be on their heels for the first period as they found themselves trailing from a never before seen 2 goal deficit as the period expired.
The second period was pure will to succeed and determination to win the puck battles. The boys cranked it up a notch as Sammy snapped home a goal and got us on the board early in the second assisted by Riley Gerber. Brendan decided to take matters into his own hands with a beauty end to end skate which ended with the puck behind the Hanover goalie and the score tied at 2. Hanover didn’t give up as the action continued back and forth throughout the period and they were able to notch 1 more against our Huskies before the period ended. Hanover was up 3-2.
Never being down going into the 3rd period of a game, it was a new experience for the boys and it was gut check time. This was a nail biter from the drop of the puck as both teams had scoring chances as well as the defenses were making incredible plays. Our boys set the tone early as Riley and Sammy muscled their way through a scrum in front of the Hanover goalie and were able to chip the puck past the goal line and tie the game at 3. Two minutes later, Brendan picked up a loose puck and sniped his second of the game and the go ahead goal. There was 6 minutes left in the game which meant there was lots of time for Hanover to surge back. They did just that with 2 minutes left in the game as they scored the equalizer. The score tied at 4 and 2 minutes left in the game, the action intensified and fans on both sides of the rink were on their feet. Both sides were getting scoring chances as everyone put forth their greatest efforts. It wasn’t until 30 seconds left in the game where our boys saw the puck cross our goal line in which ended the tie and the game with Hanover claiming the well-earned victory.
Our boys should be very proud of themselves as they played their hearts out! Games such as these are not considered a negative experience as they teach sportsmanship and graciousness in defeat. When facing a team of equal caliber and putting forth incredible effort, win or lose, as a team, we congratulate the victor.
Very well done Huskies! We have more fun to come!