The regular season for the Crusaders ended on a wimper, as the boys played two games on February 9th. One home game against Minto and a make up road game in Goderich. Due to family vacations we had to play shorthanded, and by shorthanded I mean we only had 8 skaters for both games. The lads tried there hardest but ran out of gas posting a 6-6 tie against Minto and a 8-2 loss to Goderich respectfully. Enough about that, lets get ready to RUMBLE in playdowns of the WOAA!!!!
We ended up 16-2-2 to finish the 2018/19 campaign. Not too shabby for a team that was thrown together last minute with the hard work of 4 tykes and a first year player. They put the hard work into their craft. The coaches and management worked hard to ensure a fun, positive, winning environment. The kids listened, did their work, their homework, the power skating and skills and drills, and it paid off.
At the end of the regular season the WOAA office gets all the records for all 22 teams in the Novice Rep loops and determines who we shall play up against. We ended up in the McClure Division along with West Grey, Arthur, BCH, Central Perth and Mount Forest. That my friends is some stiff competition. West Grey, finished undefeated, Arthur lost 1 game, Central Perth Battled the top teams in the league to with in 1 goal games, BCH were moved up a division because of some numbers games, and Mount Forest is a good skating club that we met in a tournament earlier this year in Minto. We know we have our work cut out for us. In saying all of that our first round opponent is from just down the road on Highway 4, BCH!!
First game was yesterday, the Sunday of Family day weekend. Both teams have been disrupted by good ol' Mother Nature lately, with cancelled practices and skills and drills due to inclement weather. I can't speak for BCH, but it showed for the Crusaders as the team from BCH jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, as the coaches and fans waited for the Crusaders to shake the rust off and get back into game speed. At the end of the first it was 2-1 for the visitors as Hot Rod Rodney Ansley scored with .1 seconds left, to wake his teammates up.
Back and forth the teams played with solid goaltending displayed by the BCH tender, Jason Allen, who was definitely the busier of the two. At the end of 2 it was 3-2 for the Crusaders. In the 3rd, the BCH Ice Dogs poured it on. Now it was time for Aiden The Quiet One Hickey to show off his talents between the pipes. Hickey made some key saves at the most important times of the third. The Ice Dogs tied the game up at 3 with 11 minutes left in the third. Hickey held the fort as the Ice Dogs kept coming. The goalies battled tit for tat giving their teams a chance to stay in it. With 6:45 left in the third Hot Rod Ansley scored to make it 4-3. Tighter D and a couple of big time saves by Hickey gave us the hard fought 4-3 victory to take a 1-0 series lead in short 2 out of 3 series. Game to goes today at 6 pm in Hensall. Scoring for the Crusaders in game one was Hot Rod Ansley with 2 and Everett The Blyth Brawler with 2 of his own. Hot Rods goals were his typical skill, nice moves goals, but The Brawlers were nothing but brute force, using his size to maintain position in front of the net and scoring your prototypical power forward style goal. Lucas "LUUUUUUUUKKKKEEEEE" White had a very solid game laying along side Ansley and Cherrey, playing what I thought was his best game of the year, setting up, starting up, a goal scored by Cherrey. LUUUUUKKKKEEEE carried the puck in fro the red line, fighting through defenders, losing the puck, getting it back to feed Ansley down low who in turn found Cherrey crashing to the net to pot his second of the game. Well done Lucas.
Exciting hockey folks. If game three is needed it will be on Wednesday night at 7 pm in Brussels. Please check the team website for any additional information regarding this or any other upcoming times and schedules.
PLAYOFFS, GOT TO LOVE THEM
Coach Derek