The Bantam Rep Rams participated in the Arthur Bantam Rep tournament this past Sunday. Was a good day with some great hockey played. The Rams had to be up early Sunday morning for their first game at 8 am.
Rams would first face Arthur at 8am bright and early. Arthur throughout the game didn't seem to slow down and kept the pressure on the Rams for the whole game. The boys played some great defensive hockey in the first period keeping it scoreless after 1st period, only to visibly slow down with only 9 skaters and come out with difficult loss at the end of three periods.
Game two had Mount Forest playing Hanover a team they haven't seen this year but were familiar with from years past. They knew it was going to be a physical game. Right out of the gate Hanover took the physical play to the Rams and took an early 4-0 lead after 1 period. After a quick talk between periods the coaching staff was impressed how the boys responded. They went back to the defensive hockey they have learned, had a few offensive chances and most of all took the physical play back to Hanover. The next two periods saw no goals being scored for either team. Very positive last two periods for the Rams.
Third game at the end of a long day had the Rams facing off against Plattsville in the "b" side consolation final. Before this the game the boys were in the room really getting focused and prepared for the game. The Rams have not had the lead in a game this year and that was one of the main focus's before the game
" get out there and get the lead and keep going". This must of had an impact because first shift Cole Dewar opened the scoring for the Rams ( just one of his Hatrick) and they had their first lead of the year. The boys must have been caught up in the moment as the very next puck drop Plattsville entered the zone and scored. From that point until the third the boys put the pressure on and had an impressive 6-2 lead going into the third. The third seen a very different game played by both teams. The Rams were relaxed with the big lead and Plattsville were taking high reward chances that paid off. With the score now 6-5 with 3 minutes left the Rams took a 4 minute penalty. Boys battled hard killing off the first one only to have Plattsville tie the game with just over 1 minute remaining. With the boys really wanting and deserving this win, they had Nolan Andrews, Cole Dewar and Josh Kelly on the ice for the final shift. They had a few chances and the puck didn't leave the Plattsville end. With around 10 seconds left in game and boys battling to the end Josh Kelly striped Plattsville player along the wall, moved towards the goal and released a perfect shot off the cross bar to far post and in. The clock stopped with 6 seconds left and the Rams once again had the lead. A long 6 seconds ticked down and the Rams had their first win of the year and a consolation championship.
The coaching staff are so proud of these boys and how resilient they can be, how they turn the page and move forward. They learned a lot of hockey lessons during these three games that they can apply to the game of hockey moving forward.
Great Job guys you deserve it.