In the season opener against the Petrolia Oilers the STARS came out on top 6-2 with Matt Beckwith in net. The BANTAM AE STARS in following game came out with the second victory; 4-2 against the Strathroy Rockets with Cole Sonier, between the pipes.
You just get that electrifying feeling that this is going
to be a great year for the ST THOMAS BANTAM AE TEAM. The group of boys that are on the ice just
gel together and give it their all every game.
Everyone is working hard and the plays just develop where the boys find
the passes and the open ice to keep the play at the opponents net.
Goaltending is going to phenomenal this year. Matt Beckwith started the season with his
trade mark butterfly stops. Matt also
had great post to post action saving plays to keep the STARS ahead in the
game. Cole Sonier had a hot glove, a
fast stick, and positioned himself squarely in front of the shooter. Cole made some great side diving plays to
make sure the puck wasn’t going into the STARS net. Both goalies as well made it known to the
other team that if any of their players were staying anywhere near the crease they
were going to pay for the space.
Passing, speed and breakouts is just part of what the
offense is cable of. Matt Crump and
Mackenzie Parkin proved just that as they raced down the wing passing back and
forth getting the STARS TEAM on the scoreboard.
Cameron Douglas is up to his gritty play in front of the opposition net
and just is relentless and keeps banging away at the puck until it is the back
of the net. And talk about another gritty
player that has an amazing shot from just inside the point, Denis Hebert can
just light up the net again and again. Josh
Hare makes his presence known on the ice and by the net, taking no nonsense
from any team he plays against and just stays with the play and keeps the
pressure up for the STARS TEAM. Ryan
Payne can really move the puck up off the boards and just keep fighting for
puck possession making sure it stays in the offensive end. Noah Dos Santos and Lane Westgate just keep
getting themselves between the puck and the opposition’s goalie and find that
top shelf each time. Nick Love can
really light up the ice and when he gets that full head of steam just rushes to
the net and he pocketed one in for the STARS TEAM to end the game against
Strathroy. These STARS boys can get the
STARS fans worked right up, keeping the energy high throughout the entire
game. You can really tell it is going to
be a great season for goal scoring this year.
The defensive part of the BANTAM AE STARS TEAM will keep
any opposing forward in check this year.
And I do mean check. Ash O’Connor
and Carson Nurse make sure they are in position to control the blue line and
when in their own end will punish any player that come close to the net. Having speedy defensive players like Preston
Hathaway and Tysen Hunter that can find the open ice and go coast to coast
scoring makes every game exciting to watch.
Sam Graham and Noah Allen are always solidly there in position to move
the puck back up the ice, quarterbacking the plays for the offense to get them
deeper towards the opponent’s goal. Wow,
it is really great to watch a game and see the teamwork and passing of the
defense to one another and the great hard shots from the blue line towards the
net looking for the forwards to chip it in.
One thing that is really impressive on this TEAM is the
TEAM aspect of the group. When one
player is down, you can see how hard the other boys work to help their TEAMMATE
out. If they find themselves in a hole,
down in the game, they fire themselves back up to take control and outplay
their opposition to take the win. Not
only do they do this on the ice, but off the ice as well. Not only is this year’s ST THOMAS BANTAM AE
players a great group of TEAM MATES on the ice, but they are a great group of
friends off the ice.
It’s just the start of the season and there are so much
more hockey to be played. So many more
STARS goals to be made and with this great bunch of boys it will be a great
treat for the STARS fans to watch the high pressure and high intensity physical
part of the game.
Can’t wait till the next game to cheer on this hard
working TEAM.
GO STARS!!!!