U16 Blues Win Final Regular Season Game

Puck movement and speed kill. Thankfully these are the primary strengths of this year's edition of the U16 Blues hockey team. The Blues used their superior passing and skating to propel them to another win over an energetic and well-coached TCS team. That said, TCS is a physical team, with numerous players over 200 lbs, and at times they were able to distract the Blues from their game plan. In the end, UCC was able to focus and notch another victory.

 

The first period was dominated by UCC, outshooting TCS 12-2 and scoring two goals; a laser guided missile by Ben Atkinson and another by shifty winger Luke Pitblado. The first also saw some big hits, especially by TCS #5 - a very impactful player - but with some notable push back from Zain Assaf, Cam Scott, Jack Kedwell and David Wood.  

 

The 2nd period was a wild one, with TCS pumped up from their rugged play and registering more offence including a 5-hole goal on Blues tender Oliver Rebanks. The Blues were not pushed around though, with Dave "Woody" Wood throwing a massive hit in front of the Blues net and netting a nice deflection goal off a Cam Scott point shot (his second helper of the afternoon). Later in the period Jack "sandpaper" Kedwell scored off of a rebound from a point shot by silky defender Nate Hannam, who had a fantastic game controlling and distributing the puck.

 

The 3rd period was much the same, UCC skating and passing, but taken off their game by TCS hard-nosed play and opportunistic rushes. UCC tender Rebanks had to be on his game to hold TCS off the board, especially as the Blues got into penalty trouble. In fact, there was an extended period of 5-on-3 hockey as the UCC players let their emotions get the better of them. 

 

Despite the lopsided score, the defence played a big part in the victory today. The tandems of Scott/Eubanks and Hannam/Hewitt brought calm and surgical puck distribution every shift. Defensive loan players Wood and Ryan "Reggie" Reyes also had very notable games.

 

All in all, the coaches are pleased with the team's effort and look forward to Tuesday's practice and Wednesday's playoff game vs. St. Mike's "B".