Oct 24, 2012 | jjohnston | 841 views
Strathroy
Our Atom AE boys headed to Strathroy for dreaded school night travel game Tuesday. I had horrible flashbacks to a year ago when in this exact same situation we limped home after a 13-2 loss. This one was much closer, but we fell one goal short on the losing end of a 3-2 score.
I could tell very early in this one that these 2 teams were very evenly matched. It was a tight checking, low chance affair until the very end of the first when Liam Armstrong buried a loose puck off of an Ethan Bradley rebound to give us a 1-0 lead. We extended our lead mid way through the second when Carter Stephens hit Hudson Mercer flying up the wing. The puck got away from him momentarily, but he recovered it behind the Rocket's net and fed a perfect pass to a waiting Rhett Devries who was left alone in front. Rhett made no mistake as he quickly shovelled it in past Strathroy's keeper. We seemed to have this one in full control, but there are 3 periods in a hockey game, not two.
The Rockets got on the board in the third when a careless play at our blue line sent them in alone and beat goalie Ethan Giles to the blocker side. This proved to be the TSN turning point as momentum shifted dramatically after that. Strathroy tied it up shortly after, and then topped off the comeback with a late goal with 3 minutes left. The puck came off the back off our net, and rather than careening to safety behind the goal, bounced out in front, where they were able to tuck it home. The boys showed great determination in the final minute with the goalie out, when Jared Parkin was robbed at point blank range at the side of the net. Ethan Bradley won the ensuing draw with 12 seconds left, and the game finished with a mad scramble in front of the Rocket's net, but the dang puck would not go in. It was a heartbreaking loss, considering how well we played the first 2 periods, but fatigue became a factor as many of our players had little time after school to eat a proper dinner, and get prepared for the game. This is travel hockey, we cannot use it as an excuse, even if it was a factor.
The boy's did a lot of things well, and a few things wrong in this game, but we have to give Strathroy credit, they capitalized on our mistakes. This was a centre that last year we could not compete with. This year we can. We have to realize that we are a different team this year, we lost some good players, gained some good players, and all became a year older and stronger. The biggest hurdle to overcome may be in our heads, myself included. These are games we have to learn to win, not expect to lose. Good effort boys, we will get them next time.