Dec 11, 2015 | lloyd williams | 815 views
DIDN'T SEE IT COMING
If you would have said to me 3 weeks ago that we would soon hold the longest running streak in our league at any point this season...........NO WAY......but here we are 6 Wins in row after ending Ayr's streak at 6! I also recall saying to Adam that there was no way that these "higher level" teams would drop enough games for us to climb back into the top 6 but again I was wrong.
There were a lot of skeptics that would have estimated our ranking to be in the bottom six but as I have said many times in recent weeks, we have got a fantastic group of kids. They might not be the elite players that some other centers have but they constantly work to improve their skills and most importantly they are a team. Every kid on that bench genuinely cares to see every kid succeed and when one of them is missing it's all they can talk about....like tonights game in Ayr "where's Noah, where's Katie" and on Sunday I am certain we will here "where's Wyatt..........
Let's start with the game in Hagersville, from the first puck drop to the final buzzer every player skated every second of every shift and the scoreboard was proof. Hunter Gallagher got us started off midway into the first with a rocket from the point to put the first mark on the board, Wyatt Norman and Katie Meyer take the Assists as reward for good heads up plays. Next up, a kid that we heard countless sighs from the bleachers but this time nothing but cheers. Rylan the Machine McIntee took the monkey off his back, put it on a puck and buried it behind Plattsvilles netminder for his first goal of the season. Not new to scoring goals of late and always hovering around the net Carson Mitchell puts a mark on the gamesheet finishing off an excellent shift and Reilly Binek takes the deserved assist in the dying seconds of the second period.
We almost forgot Nolan was even out there until the third period but he was ready as Plattsville began to pressure hard they managed some good shots on net but his teammates were there to back him as he turned away pucks they showed the Rage that we play defense too. No rebounds or odd man rushes, just textbook saves to hold on to the shutout.
Then we fly up to Ayr, a team also on a streak with 6 consecutive wins and a team that usually does pretty well against us. These kids absolutely refuse to get beat as once again they controlled the play very well and once again an easy night between the pipes, a big save in the third was all that was needed from Nolan, his teammates did the rest.
The first period was quiet but good end to end play and it looked like we would be in for a nailbiter but then the Hawks took flight. We started the second period and I think Ayr had a hard time keeping up as Wesley Patrick fired a shot from the point for his first goal of the season and the harder working team was on top with an assist from Tyler Matthews. One minute later and Tyler picked up his second point of the night but this time with goal and we were quickly out to 2 goal lead with the assist by Hunter Gallager, kill off a 5 on 3 and with one minute to go Hunter gets his second point of the night with an unassisted goal.
The third period is a long one with Ayr not wanting to be shutout for the first time this season but excellent puck movement and smart defense held the Ayr team at bay as we fly home with a second consecutive shutout and another 2 points in the standings. Our stats lady was missing tonight but I am certain that shots on our net was not in double digits. Great game guys!