Mar 10, 2020 | Scott Price | 689 views
Atom Rep IceDogs Moving On!
The stage was set. The rival. The proverbial Big Game. And a hungry bunch of IceDogs. And this one didn't disappoint.
The IceDogs had to host the Shallow Lake Lakers for a tie-breaking game on Monday night as the two teams rolled through their WOAA Round Robin Playoff and finished with the same record. The Lakers had played the IceDogs tough all season long and despite a winning record against the Lakers, this one wouldn't be easy for your AEMHA IceDogs.
Coach P took a different approach for this one...instead of a fiery speech, the message was relax, play our game and do what we have done 100 times before--play hockey the IceDog way. And it paid dividends early on. Right out of the chute, the IceDogs pumped countless pucks at the Laker net minder---it could have been 3-0 on the games opening shift! The relentless pressure led to a Laker penalty and Owen M. made them pay right away with a sharp angled snipe off a face-off win by Ethan S. The period would end 1-0 IceDogs and the shot clock read 21-2 IceDogs!
The second period was more of the same as the IceDog poured it on. Ethan S. would grab a loose puck off some hard work by Simon J. in front and Ethan would tally again after more 'Dog pressure led to a Laker turnover. The Lakers were playing their 3rd game in 3 nights and it started to show as the IceDogs wore them down with every hard skating shift. The 2nd frame would end with IceDogs in full command to the tune of 3-0.
The IceDogs have been working on breaking the game down into 3 parts and so far they were 2 for 2. They went back to work in the third period, concentrating on keeping all the good habits that had gotten them this far. Ethan would snipe on a dandy deke to make it 4-0 and Carter G. would get the fans out of their seats with a breakaway goal that had everyone thinking "Big Shot" but Carter used the sweet mitts to foil the Laker goalie and get his team a 5-0 lead. Ethan would get another on the next face-off by dancing in and ripping one from the slot. The IceDogs were rolling now, outshooting the opposition 43-6 and some of the Lakers were becoming a bit unglued. The game ended on a bit of an ugly play but the boys in the stripes settled things down and the IceDogs would skate off the ice 6-0 winners and punched their ticket into the Lockridge Finals vs South-Bruce.
It was a complete effort from start to finish and the boys had to overcome some flu-like symptoms, some line-up adjustments and overcome some pressure. For this Coach, it was one of those wins that I will always remember--not because of the W but because the way the boys responded and played for that big, beautiful crest on the front of their jersey. And a lucky dime in my pocket didn't hurt either ;-)
Congrats IceDogs...you earned your trip to the Finals. In the words of Hall of Fame Coach Herb Brooks, "This is your time--now go out there and take it!!"