Mar 23, 2022 | Rori Urbshott | 504 views
Win or Lose, there will still be cupcakes and treat bags........s
On a windy rainy cold evening your U11 Reps headed to the Tara barn for the third match up with Shallow Lake. Today was an extra special day with 2 of our crew celebrating their 11th birthday together (TWINS), what better way to celebrate then playing in a OMHA semi final game and spending time with our Hockey Family..
The lobby was full of family and friends, there was a buzz in the air, players eager to get on the ice, and the fans eager to cheer them on. Playoffs brings out the loudest fans, the Tara barn was at max capacity once again it was a fantastic sight to see. The best part about tonight's game was you could actually see the fans faces, the first time in 2 years. What a crazy time to be alive..
Now, what you're all waiting for, First period action,,, So I guess the Lakers didn't take well to losing game two in their barn on Sunday, they came out of the gate a completely different team, from the first puck drop they were relentless. Once again in our way. We dumped it out, they dumped it back in, they got all the bounces, and intercepted every pass. We did our best to hold them off but at 7:27 they got past our tender and were the first on the board. But as these games have been going, Icedogs were quick to bite back just 31 seconds later Calhon U scores his 18th of the season with a beautiful feed from his 2011 linemate Connor H. This got our U11s fired up, but the fun wasn't done yet, just 44 seconds later lakers got up by 1 making the score 2-1, then again at 4:59 making it 3-1. Things were not looking good, I'm not gonna lie, I may have been a little worried at this point. After the pep talk from the coaches Icedogs came out with a little more drive and grit, we were digging alitte deeper and winning battles, but it wasn't enough to hold the Lakers back even short handed, this put Lakers up 4-1, not great, but not terrible either.. Late in the second the Lakers get caught with 6 skaters on the ice giving your Icedogs their second powerplay of the game, but this time roles were reversed Connor H finds the back of the net assisted by Calhon U and the second helper going to Hunter T ending the second just 2 back.
Ok folks, the Flood, this is the time where your Icedogs and coaches come up with a plan for the third. The 3 coaches used the "KISS" principle (keep it simple) and using baby steps asked the kiddos to go out and get us a goal in the first 5 minutes of the 3rd and the message was received with some hard fought battles in the neutral zone from Paysen H and Landry W, they were able to locate Bennett B, feed him the puck for the Icedogs first clear breakaway of the game and like I said message received as Bennett finds the back of the net sliding one under the right pad of the Lakers tender. Now we have a hockey game!! The remainder of the 3rd period the Lakers played some solid defense, Icedogs couldn't get a bounce but it wasn't for lack of trying Icedogs used their time out, Lakers did the same and with little Jack T on the bench Icedogs fielding 6 players just couldn't get the job done. Once again the fans were on the edge of their seats, moms doing the coaching from the bleachers, cowbells, and horns..... what an atmosphere. Time ran out and the final was 4-3 again for the third straight game.. We Played hard but it wasn't hard enough.
Next action will see your U11s head back East to Shallow Lake Thursday March 24 for a 6pm start time. Come on out and cheer them on, they need you, its Do or Die!