Jan 08, 2023 | Brent LaForge | 83 views
A TREMENDOUS Saturday!
Semi-finals…not too shabby. One of the best Saturdays I’ve had in a long time, and the pride I feel is immeasurable.
Our second tournament game was scheduled to be played on Friday night at 8:30. Due to dangerous conditions with the ice, the game preceding ours was called off with nine and a half minutes left and our game was postponed. Were we going to get to play more games this weekend?
Luckily the ice was good to go Saturday and the tournament organizers were able to secure ice time prior to our regularly scheduled Saturday afternoon game.
Game 2 was intense. Playing the favoured hometown Bothwell Bullets might have intimidated others, but our Aeros didn’t seem fazed. Amazing scoring chances by both teams and stellar saves by the goalies. After a hard fought 35-minute game, we ended in a tie.
We enjoyed a late-lunch (lupper?) before our 4:30 game at Armour’s Ale House in Brooke-Alvinston. It was endearing to see the guys in a relaxed, social setting. And now I finally know what a few of the players actually look like without helmets on!
The lupper must have done the trick as we were victorious in Game 3 against the Mid Huron Huskies. Despite being double short handed for over 3 minutes in the game, our amazing Aeros proved that we are a force to be reckoned with, with a 4-2 win.
A win, a tie, a loss and an intricate scoring system. Was this the end of our tournament or if we would move on? We were in a similar situation in Dorchester in November and missed out on the semi-finals by 0.06% (if memory serves me correct), so we couldn’t assume that the points earned by our team in this tournament would be enough. To our delight, we officially finished the round robin in 4th place and secured a spot in the semi finals!
After some last-minute, unplanned fruits, veggies and juice, our boys were re-energized to take to the ice again at 7:30 against the Bothwell Bullets, who finished first in the round robin.
After the first period, we led 1-0. After the second period, the Bullets tied it up. In the third period the Bullets took the lead, but we got the goal back with 3:50 left in the third. With no other scoring, the pressure intensified with a 3-on-3 overtime period. We stood our ground, with held breath, as Marvelous Moritz blocked a penalty shot. With under a minute to play, we were starting to feel that the game would be decided in a shootout, but with 20 seconds left, the puck crossed our goal line and the hometown team was moving on.
Coach Brent reminded me that, generally speaking, there is no second place pride in Canadian hockey. But I like to shake my thinking up and focus on the positive:
Our Aeros seem to have a different mindset and energy level at tournaments. Different teams? A shorter timeline? Who knows. We didn’t move on to the finals. So what? WE MADE IT to the semi-finals. We got to play one more game than the two teams that went home after the round robin. We went to OVERTIME with the TOP PLACE TEAM and matched them evenly for a WHOLE game. Overtime could have gone either way. Both teams had the spirit, the determination and the talent. When life hands you a lemon, make lemonade. We played some of the BEST hockey so far this season and we got to sleep in today. Life is good! 😍
-N. MacLean
PS - Any of the top 4 teams could have been the champion. Our Aeros beat the team that won the tournament (Mid Huron Huskies).