Nov 21, 2009 | sweber | 896 views
A Great Weekend With A Hint of Hockey
The coaches wanted a a weekend of fun for the boys and it certainly exceeded the boys expectations. From swimming, wrestling, running, jumping and hockey, to rug burns, Nerf balls, the jaw breaking worm, to the Rams own private party room, it was a great weekend for players and parents alike.
The first game of the tournament the Rams were head to head with the Wallaceburg Lakers. Right from the start of the game the Rams were placed in the penalty box. The Lakers took advantage of the penalty and opened the scoring 1:12 into the game.
The Rams continued to spend more time in the box and the Mount Forest crew seemed a little shy to play their usual style of hockey for fear of getting more penalties.
Alex Kieffer set up Troy Weber with a beautiful pass out front of the net but the Lakers cager was there to stop it.
The second period the Rams shook out all their jitters and played like the Rams we know. Sully Fisher bolted out of the box like a flash and went down the ice for a shot. Brady Reeves-Coburn fired a long shot but was gloved by the goalie. Cory Lewis with a great pass to Luke Cowen shot up the ice with a little bit too much momentum went into the net and took it off.
The Lakers came back and Kroes stopped them with a big glove save.
Benn Zettler passed to Coburn for a shot, it was stopped by the goalie and Sully Fisher was in the right spot to pop in the rebound. It was a 1-1 game heading into the third. The third period always seems to be the boys strongest and this was certainly no exception.
Dylan Reeves took one for his team as he used his body as a shield and dove in front of the puck to avert a goal. It got the adrenaline pumping. Carsten Cottingham passed to Luke Cowen who walked down with the puck for a shot of his own and Troy Weber was there to seal the deal.
It was a 2-1 game with just over 5 minutes to go. The Rams suffer a penalty that proved to be a costly one as the man advantage for the Lakers they used to play a game of cat and mouse passing behind the net to distract Kroes of which way they were going to tuck the puck in the corner on a wrap around.
Jacob Reeves tried to get the goal back with a pass out front to Nole Black but was denied.
Coburn fired a slapshot that was gloved right out of the air.
The final buzzer sounded and it was decided there was a 5 minute sudden death overtime. The coaches set the lines and plays and told the boys what needed to be done. It was a tough way to start the overtime when Dr. Jeff's services were required to help up Sully Fisher who was taken down after a hard rush into their end.
The Lakers received a penalty and the Rams were hoping to take advantage but were not able to get past their goalie.
1:30 left in O.T. the Rams were again escorted to the penalty box. It was a tough time to take a penalty but the Rams put their heads down and the defence of Carsten Cottingham, Riley Moore, Dylan Reeves and Warren Zeinstra were solid, played their positions and were able to fight off the penalty. With just seconds to go Troy Weber stopped a play with his fast wheels to defuse a breakaway.
O.T. was over. It was now a shoot out. Again the pep talk for the team.
Troy Weber was the first one up shooting for the Rams. He took his time and deeked out the goalie and lifted the puck high in the corner.
Lakers first shooter - Kroes came out far, following the puck all the way in, made the save with his pad.
Brady Reeves-Coburn was the 2nd shooter for the Rams and he walked in and fired a slapshot right in the same top corner as Weber.
Lakers 2nd shooter was moving back and forth to deek out Kroes but Kroes caught his shot with a quick toe save.
The boys claimed a win in game one. Noah Kroes was awarded the MVP but the entire team deserved this as they all worked so hard and played so well. It was back to the hotel for some fun.
GAME #2
The Rams second game was at 9:00 p.m. and fatigue had set in for most of the boys. The team of boys that had been swimming, running, jumping, wrestling had finally sat down for supper and the energy burned throughout the day had finally caught up with them.
The Rams played the Mount Brydges Cougars. The Rams came out looking strong but quickly tired. Brady Reeves-Coburn fired a slapshot but was shut down.
4:30 into the 1st period the Rams had trouble clearing the puck out of their end and the Cougars persistance paid off where they kept hammering away to score the 1st goal of the game.
Nole Black had a shot with help from linemates Alex Kieffer and Jake Reeves.
Riley Moore poke checked the puck away from the Cougars forward which tipped the puck to Troy Weber who made a spectacular rush as the seconds wound down on the clock but hit the crossbar.
The 2nd period the Cougars attacked early as a 3-on-1 play gave them a 2-0 lead.
Sully Fisher got the lone goal for the Rams after receiving a great pass from Carsten Cottingham.
A Cougars forward headed to the penalty box but even with the man advantage the Rams couldn't get things going. Coburn fired a shot, Troy tried with the rebound but hit the crossbar again.
The 3rd period Kroes' trapper was on fire as it had a lot of action during this game. Alex Kieffer tipped the puck off the boards, used his skate to bring the puck ahead of him and took a shot but was denied.
Coburn had a pass out front to Fisher but was shut down. The Cougars were able to score two more goals before the end of the game to make the final score 4-1. Warren Zeinstra with his trademark laser shot rung the post to end the game. Congratulations to Luke Cowen for receiving the MVP award for the 2nd game. As disappointing as this game was, the boys went back to the hotel and had a great weekend which was what the coaches were hoping for when scheduling this tournament.