Feb 07, 2008 | Rob Gordon | 720 views
Game 5 - Ripley Rematch
An eager team from Ripley showed up in Blyth on January 27th to get revenge for their earlier defeat. Blyth had gained a lot of confidence from their previous meeting and felt great about hosting Ripley. We were excited to show our fans in our barn just how much of a powerhouse we were. The game began and our team showed great effort, determination and skill. I am so pleased at the improvement in our play and the sportsmanship displayed by all of our players.
The game began and we won the draw to control the puck right away. It looked like another great game for Blyth Tyke Jr. We sped down the ice and fired several shots on a surprised Ripley goalie. Tanner, Snowden and Connor all blasted a shot but were denied. This first shift was full of skill, speed and excitement but no goals.
The next shift produced two back to back breakaways for Michaela. She put two great moves on the Ripley goalie on each break she got, only to be stoned by two spectacular saves. We were all shocked but knew our hard work would soon pay off. We were right.
Our next shifts saw back and forth play with no goals for either side. Snowden played goalie for us and made a two pad stack save to rival the play of the Ripley goalie.
As another goalie took over for us we grabbed the puck from the face-off and Clarissa spied Connor heading up the wing. He moved in over the blue-line and send a crisp pass to Tanner in the middle for a clear shot on net. Tanner is our leading sniper and he made no mistake, sending a rocket past a helpless goalie. One nothing for Blyth.
The shift was not over however and Snowden won the draw from center over to Zac. In a smooth play Zac sent a nifty backhander back to Snowden who sped over the Ripley line for a shot on net. This shot was denied but a determined Tanner charged the net and sent the rebound to the back of the net. The twine bulged and we were up two to nothing.
Ripley was not pleased by this turn of events and sent a strong line out next. They immediately grabbed the puck and went in for a shot on our goalie. Save after save was made by Luke but the tenacity of Ripley paid off and they sent the seventh rebound to the back of our net.
Our next shift showed the skill and confidence of our team. As Ripley buzzed our end we intercepted a pass and were off to the races. Michaela sent a breakout pass to Connor on the wing, who sent a pass to Tanner at center. Tanner took two strides and spotted the speedy Snowden driving hard up the right wing. This put him on a clear breakaway. Snowden put a nifty move on the goalie and buried a nice backhander to put us up 3 to 1.
Excited by this our next line went on to show what they could do. Sure enough they would not be outdone by their team mates. Reece was everywhere in our end defending our goalie from shots, until he grabbed an errant pass and sent a pass up the middle to a hard skating Connor for a breakaway. Connor went right to the net and took his best shot, only to be denied. The rebound sat around so Connor took advantage for several more shots -- no luck. Seeing this Kyle rushed in to grab the final rebound, with the goalie down and out Kyle flipped the puck into the net. Way to go Kyle -- This was his first career goal. I wonder if I should have kept the puck and got him to sign it. Collector items are worth a lot you know.
Ripley was determined to score again on the final shift of the game and grabbed the puck straight from the face-off and raced to our net, buzzed our poor goalie and sent a rocket to the corner of the net.
Emily took exception to this treatment and won the next face-off directly back to Luke. He sent a nice pass to Snowden. With only seconds to go Snowden had to hurry. He reached the top of the face off circle and rifled a shot towards the net. It was too much for the Ripley goalie who just missed it. The whistle went to indicate a goal, the buzzer went to indicate the end of the game and again Blyth was victorious.
Great game team - we look forward to Kelden returning to our team to add some much appreciated speed.
Again team always remember to:
Skate with your head UP
Skate with your knees BENT
That puck is MY puck
And most important of all Have Lots of FUN !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Coach Rob