Your Novice LL3 Huskies participated in the 48th Annual Gord Hymers tournament in Listowel on March 8th 2014.
With their first venture into a rep tournament, the boys had a sense of anticipation and nervousness. Their first match was against a strong squad from Hanover. After a tentative first period, Hanover broke the game open in the second and the game ended with the score 11-0 in favour of the Falcons. Strong play by Huskies forwards Kohen P, Zack K, and Hayden J kept the Hanover team on their toes and the defensive play of Eric M and Finn S helped defend our end. Deklan stood tall in between the pipes and stopped 41 of 52 shots to earn the player of the game.
The second game for the boys was against the Blyth/Brussels Crusaders, a team from small towns that can really play. The play in the first two periods was tentative and the boys played a tight defensive game. Deklan J made a couple dozen huge saves to keep the game close but fatigue and relentless pressure in the Husky end led to a defeat. The coaches pulled Deklan with 90 seconds to go in hopes that the boys could come back but the scoreboard at the end of the game showed a score of Blyth/Brussels 17, your Huskies 0. Cohen W, Jackson M, and Caleb H provided an offensive spark and Aidan K's strong defensive play earned him the player of the game award.
In between the 2nd and 3rd game Kohen P and Deklan J represented our squad in the Cherry Bus Lines shootout. Both players played great and missed moving onto the semi-finals by being eliminated in an extra round of shooters. Great job boys! You made us proud!
In the third game, the coaches decided to add some letters to 3 jerseys to help the team's leaders show the way. Kohen P wore the captain 'C' and Trent A and Aidan K wore the assistant 'A's. The Huskies had a tough opponent in Dresden but the boys were ready for them. After a sluggish first period that had the boys behind 6-0, your Huskies came out on fire in the second period with lots of shots and a shut down defensive zone coverage. With no goals allowed in the second, hopes were high going into the third. Kohen P, Cohen W and Cameron L kept the pressure on in the Dresden end and Kaden G and Trent A were shot-blocking machines, including a great forehead block by Kaden. Coach Rob mentioned that he hadn't seen such great shot-blocking since Craig Ludwig's days with the Montreal Canadiens. Deklan played exceptional again and Trent was on his game and earned the player of the game award in a 9-0 loss.
With a save percentage over 90%, even with 37 goals against, Deklan was the winner of the hardest working player of the tournament!
The coaches couldn't have been more proud of the boys. We may not have had the same skill set as the rep teams but our work ethic was second to none. We were able to skate with all three teams, and we never gave up. Great work Huskies! This effort is going to help us get the elusive New Hamburg Local League championship crown.
