Dec 30, 2014 | dcumming | 594 views
EAGLES COMPETE AT AYLMER CHRISTMAS TOURNAMENT!
The Novice LL 2 team travelled to Aylmer to take part in their Christmas tournament on December 28th.
It all began with a very early morning wake up call as the Eagles were set to hit the ice at 9:15 against the very hot host team Aylmer 1! Coming into the game we knew that we were in for a tough challenge. Aylmer is currently sitting in 3rd place in the very talented East Division. They hold a record of 12-2-1 on the season and coming into their game with us, were riding a 10 game winning streak! Despite the somewhat long odds, the Eagles came in ready to give it their all!
The first period saw 6 minutes of very evenly played hockey. It was not until there was 4 minutes left in the frame, that #14 opened the scoring for Aylmer with a blazing wrist shot, up and over the glove of "The Wall", Wyatt Grover. #14 would go on to add another in a similar fashion just 3 minutes later, giving the home team the 2-0 lead after 1 period of play!
The Flames took a 3-0 lead at 8:22 of the second. The Eagles did not quit working though, and at 5:22, Kaden "Black Shadow" Smith was able to crack the goose-egg and put us on the board! That would turn out to be all of the scoring this group of hardworkers could muster in this one! The Flames went on to add 2 more in the second period, while #14 completed his hat-trick in the third, as he collected his 5th point of the game!
As the final horn sounded the final score was Aylmer 6, East Lambton 1.
After the game, the coaches reminded the kids that despite the seemingly lop-sidded loss, they ought to be proud. They worked hard and for much of the game kept right up to a team that has been winning games by 20 or more goals in their regular season! Wyatt "The Wall" Grover was chosen by the Aylmer coach as the "Player Of The Game" and it was a well deserved award!
Many of the players took to the parking lot to play a little ball hockey between games, as the sun was shining and it was a fun little team bonding time! Thanks to those who supervised the, at times, chaotic action out there!
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In game 2, The Eagles were hungry for a win, and it showed quick! Real quick! Just 11 seconds into the game, Isaac "The Surgeon" Goss buldged the twine putting the Eagles ahead 1-0. They exploded for three more goals in the first period, including 2 from "Black Shadow" Smith, who found his back-hander twice and another by "The Surgeon"! Jack "BlackJack" Stewart picked up the only assist! With 3 minutes to go in the first, St. Marys managed to put a puck in the net, despite stellar play by Wyatt "The Wall" Grover. The score was 4-1 Eagles after 1 period.
Carson "Wheels" Cumming opened the second period with a goal to move the Eagles ahead 5-1 at 8:10! The only stat recorded in the second period of play. At 8:52 of the 3rd period, Isaac "The Surgeon" Goss completed the first hat-trick of his hockey career when he scored to put the Eagles up 6-1! As the clock winded down, St Marys added a second goal, but it would not be nearly enough to ground the Eagles in this one, final score 6-2! Earning his first ever hat-trick, Isacc "The Surgeon" Goss was awarded "The Player Of The Game" trophy by the St Marys coach! Congratulations Isaac! You earned it!
After the game it was time to cash in the meal tickets, before we punched our tickets to the B-Finals! Hot-dogs, chips and pop for everyone as we all took over the lobby! Some left the rink to get Subway instead, but forgot to take the coach's order... (next time, Subway club, add bacon)
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Our third and final game of the day was the B-finals! A quick trip up to the bracket board showed us that our opponent would be The Dorchester Dragons. Another tough draw for the Eagles! In regular season play. The Dragons are 15-0 on the season. They have outscored their opponents by a margin of 105-7. Again, we knew it would be a real challenge for us to topple them, but we suitted up and hit the ice ready to give it all we had!
Dorchester opened the game with 2 goals in the very first minute! It was not looking good for the Eagles right out of the gate! 3 minutes later though, after some really hard work, Carson "Wheels" Cumming got one back for the Eagles at 6:10 assisted by Ryan "Rhyno" Stevens! The Dragons responded a minute later to go up 3-1 at 5:05 and then 4-1 with 0:28 seconds to go. Carson Cumming took off on one of several breakaway opportunities of the day and managed to score with 0.3 seconds left in the period, a true buzzer-beater, assisted by "BlackJack" Stewart! The score was 4-2 after the first period!
The Eagles would not add any more scoring, but they did settle in against this very skilled team and limit them to only 3 goals in the next 2 periods of play! Despite the 7-2 final scoreline, it needs to be reiterated that these Eagles played tough! Our defense played hard all day and did an amazing job to keep the score against in the single digits! "The Wall" was peppered with 39 shots, and the sweat on his head proved that he worked as hard as anyone on the ice! Carson "Wheels" Cumming's 2 goals in the first period and hard work all game long were enough to earn him a "Player Of The Game" trophy from the Dorchester coach in the final!
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Overall it was a great day in Aylmer! We played some really good hockey and we continue to improve every game! It seems to me that the kids are having fun on and off the ice as they become closer as teammates and friends! I'd like to thank you all for the great support from an awesome group of coaches, and parents who do so much to make the hockey experience awesome for these kids!
Wishing you all a Happy New Year! Go Eagles Go!
*Our next ice is a game on Sunday January 4th at 2pm in Alvinston vs. Strathroy Black!*