Oct 08, 2018 | pdavis | 528 views
Game 1: Home Opener VS Mariposa
Tuesday Oct 2, 2018 was the date circled on the calendar for the season and home opener for the PeeWee AE Muskies.
The players were excited and a little nervous with the thought of playing one of their toughest rivals in the past...the Mariposa Lightning.
The parents arrived with their kids about an hour before the game and the arena was already jammed with the Atom BB and Atom AE playing on Pads 1 and 2. The ambiance was electric and both parents and kids seemed to feed off of this and the excitement began to take over the nerves.
Both teams hit the ice for their warm-ups a little earlier than expected and when looking at the benches and the kids..it was difficult no to reminisce about two years ago. Lindsay and Mariposa would be tough rivals all year long and would end up going to a final game to decide the entire year.
Would this season be different? Would this years Muskies have more success and would it have greater memories to carry forward? Buckle in and enjoy the ride!!!! The answer to these questions will all be answered in the next 6 months.
At about 7:35pm(10 minutes early), the puck dropped and the 2018-19 season officially began for our boys.
The 1st period was tense and the play moved back and forth with both teams feeling the other out like a boxing match.
The Mariposa goalie proved to be busier as the period moved on but our Muskies couldn't seem to solve him.
As time ticked off the clock the rust slowly fell off our Muskies and they began to take control of the play and move into the Lightning end of the ice with more ease.
When the Lightning players did manage to move into our end of the ice, our defence shut them down.
Jack E, Jackson Q, Wyatt M. and Tyson N. were stingy and didn't allow many opportunities for the opposition as they pushed the offence to the outside, blocked passes, and slowed the Lightning down.
Any opportunities that did get passed the defence were pushed aside or swallowed by Justin M.
The 1st period ended with no score and the fans were on the edge of their seats waiting for the 2nd to begin
The 2nd period was much like the 1st...back and forth at first with Lindsay taking control of the play with more consistency as the clocked ticked.
With 5:15 left in the 2nd period; Jackson Q. control of the puck in his own end and chipped it up off the boards to Owen V. Owen spotted Josh G who was behind the defence in the Lightning zone and fed him a great pass.
Josh snapped the puck over the Mariposa goalies blocker to give Lindsay a 1-0 lead and to mark the first goal of the season!!!!!!!
With 1:25 left in the period our Muskies again took control of the puck in their own end. Landin M. stole the puck from the opposition and skated behind our own net and fed it up the boards to Max W. who was waiting for the pass on his wing. Max passed the puck to Jackson Q. who looked up and saw lots of open ice!
Jackson moved hard up the ice and cut in on the left side of the Mariposa goalie and snapped the puck into the roof of the net on the goalies glove side...the twine bent and the score was 2-0 Lindsay!!!!!
The 3rd period would prove to be the busiest of the game.
The play began to get chippier as the game moved on....Mariposa could not seem to beat our defence and they started to take a few shots at our defence and the chirping was non stop after every play.
With 12:38 to play in the 3rd, the Lightning took advantage of a power play and finally managed to beat Justin M. to cut our lead to 1. Muskies 2-1
However, shortly after the Mariposa goal..Lindsay found themselves on a power-play with the twin towers Josh G. and Owen V. on the ice.
Owen D. picked the puck up in the corner to the left of the Lightning goalie and passed it to Owen V. who tapped it over to Josh G. Josh made no mistake and tapped it into the open net!!! Tic Tac Toe...3-1 Muskies!!!!!!
With 7:57 left in the game...Max W. took control of the puck just behind the oppositions net and went to flip a pass out front to Tyler P who was waiting in the slot. The pass went a little high but managed to hit the goalie in the back of the head and bounce into the net. 8 ball...off the goalies head...corner pocket...4-1 Lindsay!!
Mariposa managed to get one last fluky goal as the puck seemed to be greased as it slid under Justin's pad and slowly made it across the line.
The buzzer sounded and our Muskies were victorious in their season opener!! 4-2.
The defence was phenomenal as they moved with precision and they managed to get under the skin of the opponents and caused them to take undisciplined penalties.
The forwards shook off the rust and as the game moved on they began to get a feeling for each other...the passes were crisper and direct
The Lightning are a tough team but our boys didnt back down to the challenge...they went to the corners, they skated stride for stride, they pushed the opponent off the puck and they battled at every opportunity.
They didn't let Mariposa get under their skin and beat them both on the scoreboard and in the disciplined style of play
Good job Muskies!!!!