May 25, 2014 | astanley | 971 views
Quick Feet 06 Squad Takes Silver in Collingwood
It was a roller coaster ride of emotions this weekend for players, parents and supporters of the 2006 Minor Novice Quick Feet team, at the Collingwood Blue Thunder Cup.
The boys started the tournament with a hard fought 3-2 regulation loss Friday morning, against the efficient Regional Express East squad from Markham/Barrie.
But, there was no time to dwell on the loss as they prepared to face the puck hungry Maitland Ice Sharks crew, later on Friday evening. The Quick Feet boys worked steadily and laid a gill net for the Sharks to record a 3-0 victory.
Saturday morning proved too much for the boys and they struggled to a 3-2 regulation loss against a determined Blue Thunder squad who were playing their all for the home crowd. The second loss dropped the Orange and Blue to 2nd in their pool with 2 points and a +1 GF/GA rating.
This meant that the boys would have to take the long way to the Finals if they wanted a shot at the Cup.
Saturday evening the Quick Feet boys dug deep and sent a message to all their critics by dropping the Kitchener Rangers with a commanding 7-0 victory in the Quarter Final match.
This gave them a birth into the semi-finals against a well groomed Green Gloves team early Sunday morning.
The semi-final game started with Quick Feet drawing first blood, late in the first period. The teams edged one another with end to end rushes and stellar goaltending. The Green Gloves managed to tie the game late in the second period.
In the final minutes of the game the Green Gloves snapped a shot from the top of the circle that hit the cross bar and dropped within inches of an open Quick Feet net. Both teams scrambled tirelessly in what seemed like an eternity before the Quick Feet defenders finally escorted the puck safely out of their zone. With less than a minute left in regulation, Quick Feet lead a charge deep into the Green Gloves territory and stunned the Green squad with a late goal (22 secs remaining) to boost them to a 2-1 lead. The Quick Feet boys killed the remaining time to clinch their spot in the Championship game, which would be a re-match, against the tough Regional Express crew.
The championship game saw end to end action and both teams put on goaltending clinics. Quick Feet fought back twice from a 1-goal deficit and managed to knot the game at two-apiece by the end of regulation.
A five minute, 5 on 5 sudden death OT, didn't solve either team's goaltenders (although action saw multiple crossbars, posts and line-trickling scrambles) so play moved to a 1 minute, 4 on 4 sudden death period. Neither team had an answer for eachother and play went end to end. A 3 0n 3 and 2 on 2 match ended with the same results.
Finally, a 5th OT round was need which saw a 1 minute, 1 on 1 challenge. Quick Feet started the final OT with a breakaway straight off the face-off and managed to send a bullet wristor that sailed past the Express goaltender, only to hit solid iron with a "thwang" that was heard all over Southern Ontario. The play quickly turned back towards the Quick Feet net where the stalemate finally ended when the Express team scored the winning goal.
It was a heart-breaking moment for the Orange and Blue but they have many reasons to hold their heads high. They have come so far in the past few weeks and they have just finished one of the most intense hockey filled weekends of their lives, playing six games in three days. To make it even sweeter, their amazing play this weekend saw them take home some silver hardware.
The Minor Novice Quick Feet coaches would like to tell our boys how proud we are of them and how honoured we are to be coaching a team that "plays with heart". They truly die hard and have proved to everybody that they are here to compete.
Great Job Boys!!!
Look out London, here we come!