This weekend, the Novice Rep IceDogs took to the ice as the host team for their annual rep tournament.
It was a great showing with great teams and competitive, exciting games for the 2 day event.
On Saturday the Rep IceDogs came out of the gate with a purpose. Battled hard and all game and came out with a 6-2 victory against a tough Huron Bruce team. Off for a couple of hours and then they were back at it against a strong team from Georgian Shores. A close battle and the IceDogs ended up on the short end of the stick with a 5-3 loss. No time for rest as there was one game played and they were right back at it again this time against Arthur. A lacklustre game, their third of the day and second within the hour proved to be too much for the IceDogs as they fell 6-1. A quick comment about playing for the name on the front of the jersey and not the name on the back and the team was sent home to get ready for the next day.
This morning, semi-final game against Minto. Win and go to the championship. Lose and it's the consolation final.
From the drop of the puck you could see this was an entirely different team from the day before. Attacking, battling, being first on the puck. Always on the toes and not on their heels. The game wasn't even 2 minutes old when Gryphon B clears the blue line and lets go a howitzer slapshot that ends up short side near the top of the net.
Minto ties the game at the 6 minute mark and then pull ahead with 4 minutes to go. The duo of Connor B and Jesse P team up to get the next couple for the IceDogs - the first one, Connor to Jesse tied the game at 2 at the end of the first and then tied it up again halfway through the second - this time Jesse to Connor for a bang in goal. Minto creeps ahead shortly after and then The IceDogs show no quit when Gryphon B feeds Owen W off the faceoff for a laser like shot into the back of the net. Second ends in a 4-4 tie. Play goes back and forth in the third with tight battles and close checking. Then Jesse P finds himself all alone and puts the IceDogs ahead for good. Game ends in a 5-4 win for the Rep IceDogs and it's off to the finals against Arthur.
This is the first time this team has been close to a championship title. It was expressed how hard a team had to work and had to battle for each other in order to have success as a team. With the players excited and ready to go, the battle was on.
12 seconds into the game Gryphon B fires a puck on net with the rebound going straight to Anthony K who banged it in and the IceDogs were on the board. (fitting it was number 12 scoring 12 seconds into the game...)
The IceDogs go up by 2 halfway through the first when Cohen Hamel blasts one from the blueline. 20 seconds left in the first Arthur finally get their legs under them and strike back cutting into the IceDog lead. Period ends 2-1 for the IceDogs.
Re-energised between the periods and this time 11 seconds into the second. a relentless Carter M bangs in a rebound to regain an IceDogs 2 goal lead. The Vipers don't go away, scoring the next 2 goals to tie the game up at 3 a piece. 4 and a half minutes to go in the second Connor B takes a pass from Gryphon B and puts the IceDogs up again. 30 seconds later the Vipers reply. A minute later Jesse P takes a pass from Carter M and finds the back of the net to put the IceDogs up again. They held the lead until 2 seconds left in the second when the Vipers find a loose puck and poke it into the back of the net. Period ends in a 5-5 tie.
To put it bluntly, the third period was a blur.
Both teams never quit. Both charged hard. Both battled and fought tooth and nail. There was no give in either team. Three times the Vipers broke loose only to fire rockets off the mask of goalie Michael M. A blatant missed tripping call on an IceDog player on a breakaway, a tripping penalty called on an IceDog player and a minor disagreement between the coach and the ref caused the IceDogs to be down 2 men at the 6 minute mark of the third. Keeping the enthusiasm on the bench and focused on outstanding play, the IceDogs professionally killed off the 5-3 penalty kill. The battles in the corners, blocked shots by Owen W and Cohen H, along with continuous pressure on the Viper defence allowed the IceDogs to kill the penalty and focus on finishing strong.
In the last 3 minutes both teams calling a time out to rest and allow the players to calm down and focus on the task at hand.
Less than a minute left in the game, Jesse P pulls a puck out of the corner and fires one short side past a scrambling Viper goalie and the IceDogs go up by one again
With the goalie pulled, the Vipers threw everything they had at the IceDogs who solidly stood their ground and didn't budge. Final buzzer and it was pandemonium! The IceDogs did it! They held on and won Championship!
If you were at the rink today for these 2 games today, you saw something special. You saw 12 kids come together, put all their individual goals aside and focus on the one team goal. If they didn't have the puck, they put their heads down and got it back. They checked, battled and fought. From the relentless angling and checking of Owen W, Cohen H and William M to the speed and drive to keep pucks in and go for 50-50 pucks of Waylon G and Avery W, the defence played outstanding. The forwards of Carter M, Connor B, Jesse P, Anthony K and Gryphon B, they battled hard in both ends, were first on the puck and found their mark if they didn't have the puck. They kept the puck in the offence end for long periods of time. The goalie dual of Michael M and Aiden S, stood their ground and fought to give the team a chance in every game.
This is a huge win for the Novice Rep IceDogs, both as a team and individually. They learned some very important lessons about competition and about themselves. At times they bent but they never broke, never got down on themselves and always battled hard until the final buzzer.
Congratulations guys! You deserve it. The coaching staff is very proud of you. You also earned a couple weeks off from the side to side drill!!!!
Enjoy the accomplishment and let's continue this into the second half of the season!
