Last weekend the Quick Feet Major Novice Team headed south
for their third and final tournament of the Spring season. They were looking to build upon their best
finish as a team in the last event.
Historically this team always comes out flat on Fridays. Call it due to the long drive, excitement and wonder of playing in a big city, big event with lots of people around, or just plain jitters. Fridays have always been a write-off for us.
That is now in the past
A late afternoon start and the team came out flying. A quick goal by the opposing team and after that it was all Quick Feet all the time. Smashing their opponent 4-1. Game 2 on Friday was much the same. 14 seconds into the game a shot by Gryphon B bounces off a knee and the team is on the scoreboard first. The lightning bolts return the favour and get 2 in the first to win the period. After that it was all Quick Feet all the time. They won the next 2 periods and eventually the game with a final score of 5-2. With the goal differential and being 2-0 theQuick Feet Major Novice team found themselves in uncharged territory standing alone in first place after day one. The Friday jinx now over.
Saturday’s first game was against a familiar foe from the previous tournament - Pro Sports Hockey. It was also about the same time the boys in stripes started picking favourites...
Last time these two teams met it ended in a 2-2 draw so the fans were expecting a good game. They were not disappointed!
This game was the start of something else as well. It was the start of a group of young individuals looking adversity in the eye and saying “we are not tucking tail and running. No way. Not today” After 3 straight goals in the first period, a couple of comments made by the bench seemed to spark the team. Max. M jumps on to the ice, takes a pass from Jackson N and drills one to the back of the net. 3-1. Less than 30 seconds later Grayson B charges up the ice and roofs one to end the period down 3-2. With the team holding the play for most of the second, Pro Sports sneaks away and puts one into the net to end the second up 4-2.
Halfway through the third the Quick Feet Major Novice Team finally, after a barrage of shots get 2 past the goalie to tie the game. Pro Sports sneaked one more past later in the period to go up by open until a minute later Colby H ties it up again on a beauty feed from Olivia S. A pass from Gryphon B to Tucker M and into the net sealed the Quick Feet’s third win in a row in spite of being a favorite team of the refs and spending more than their share of the time in the box...
Game 4 – from the drop of the puck it was all Quick Feet all the time. They held the play for 3 periods and came out 5-0 victors. Goalie Michael M recording his first ever shutout in Spring hockey.
After 2 days, this Quick Feet team was still at the top of the heap. The only team to go undefeated. On to the Platinum Semi-Final against Pro Sports Hockey
Pro Sports got off to a quick start scoring 22 seconds into the game. After that the team woke up and started attacking. Halfway through the period a Pro Sports player rushes down the ice and loses the puck. As there was a quick feet player in the area, the refs thought it would be a good idea to call a penalty shot. Garbage call as no one was in control of the puck. However, last time the coach check, he has never seen a ref change his mind. So it was all up to goalie Stanley C to keep the team close. The player went in faked one way then the other. Stanley didn’t bite and ended up making a great save! The crowd went wild. This spurred on the team and on the next play defenseman Luke S (lanky Luke) grabs the puck and bobs and weaves his way through the team and wires one top shelf to end the period at 1 apiece. 2 more goals in the second by the Quick Feet team and that was all she wrote for this game ending in a 3-2 victory! On to the Platinum Finals
This game, against the Knights, was an interesting one to say the least. It was one that was filled with a lot of emotion – both good and bad. Bad calls. Combined penalty minutes of 36 – the refs certainly wanted to be part of this game – as well as the fans... Great scoring and an unrelenting desire to bring home a trophy, end the season on an high note, to prove all the nay sayers wrong that this is a team made up of great players.
Once again the team fell behind after the first 1-0. After the second, down 3-1. A quick comment about never giving up, last game, last period and let’s have fun and finish strong and show Toronto what a bunch of kids from the North can do. Jackson N blasts one by the goalie in the first 41 seconds of the third. A minute later, a nifty pass from Tucker M to Gryphon B who one timed it in the back of the net ties it a 3 apiece. Next shift the reffing BS continues as Gryphon B gets a high sticking penalty (while his stick is on the ice). As it was his third of the game the refs decide to through the player out of the game. Next shift however, a Knights player gets his third penalty of the game (including a 4 min hit to the head penalty ) and stays in the game. Hmmm... Like I said, the emotion by this time was running high. It was a tough job to stay on point and focus on the game and keep the players and coaches themselves staying on task – which was to win the game. 4 and a half minutes left and the Knights fire one into the net. Not 30 seconds later Parker A says “I’m not going out this way” and walks through the Knights and buries it to tie the game again. The fans from both teams are in a frenzy –to the point one of the refs starts taunting a Knight fan – something this coach has never seen before. Third period ends in a tie. Overtime. 3 on 3. First goal wins.
Quick Feet comes out and takes it to the Knights. From the faceoff they held the play and threw everything they had at the Knights goalie. It wasn’t meant to be. 53 seconds left in the overtime the Knights fire one into the net and the game is over.
This one was hard to take. There were so many emotions from this game that had to be thought through. A player in tears as he figures it was his fault his team lost because he got kicked out of the game. Frustration on the coaches as they wanted so badly a different ending for a team that played with heart. Tears from the players showing how badly they wanted to end their Spring season as champions.
All for naught.
However, this was the best tournament we had ever. On the website it shows we still have more points than any other team. Holden C, Gryphon B and Tucker M ended up tied for 11th scoring for the weekend. As a whole, this team outworked and out played ever team we played.
After some quiet reflection, sleeping on it, waking up the next day, it is still tough to take. However the sun did rise, work and school did resume after an intense weekend of hockey. Basically life continued.
This Spring season was one we as a group will remember. Families getting to know each other – “Hey it’s the guy from the laundry room!!!” Laughing until it hurts, watching with pride how your child progressed into the resilient player they now are.
The biggest thing we can take from this - especially from this last tournament is, RUBBERMAN! No I’m kidding – well sort of - The biggest thing we can take is these kids have heart. Almost every game we played this weekend we were down and came back to win with poise and polish. This team - Stanley C. Michael M. Will B. Luke S. Taron H. Brodie F. Grayson B. Riley A. Max M. Jackson N. Olivia S. Parker A. Lochlan H. Colby H. Tucker M. Holden C. and Gryphon B. These kids may not have had the most individual talent but combined with others, this team showed true heart, determination and the ability to ignore all and focus on what they can do and do it. We took 17 players from different areas and put them together in April. Told them this is their team now play like you have been playing together all year long. It wasn’t easy and at times being near the coach wasn’t a lot of fun, however in the end this team came together, believed in themselves and each other and saw the true potential each and every one of them have that the coaching staff saw from the first day in April. This team ended with a respectable 8-6-1 record over three tournaments, taking home some hardware in 2 but most important – made lifelong friends and found what lies deep down inside each of them.
Another Great Season is in the books. It was a pleasure to be part of this team.
