TCS Tournament - Day 1 Recap
The U16 Blues kicked off round robin play in an early bird tournament hosted by Trinity College School in Cobourg, ON and Port Hope, ON.
Round Robin Game 1 - UCC vs. St. Mary Catholic Secondary School.
The U16 Blues won their first game of the TCS tournament, beating Cobourg St. Mary 4-0.
Goalie Dylan "Great Wall" Meanchos notched his first shutout and the team its 3rd victory in a row today at the beautiful Cobourg Community Centre. This was a game versus a predominantly grade 9 team, but St. Mary fought hard, finding a way to fire 12 shots on Meanchos, including two breakaways.
Notable performances were delivered by Luke Pitblado (2 beautiful goals from in close) and Kyan Haldenby who set up the Pitblado's first, and UCC's second tally, scored by skilled agitator Zain Assaf. The fourth goal was slapped in by Matt Grudzinski who finished off an end to end rush by defenseman Ryan Reyes.
The entire defence corps demonstrated skill and physicality all game long, clearing the zone efficiently and joining the rush whenever they could. The big hits and booming slap shots by rugged rear-guard Ryan Reyes were intimidating to say the least. Tireless back-checking and defensive support by Christian "Selke" Coffey and surprisingly effective checking by our lightest forward, the Mitch Marner-esque Jack Kedwell ensured the clean sheet.
Unsung heroes of the game were defence partners Nate Hannam and Jack Hewitt. Their D-2-D passing and calmness on the back end frustrated forecheckers to no end and set up many offensive opportunities.
The coaches would like to thank the boys for their effort and are so pleased with the progress of the team. Well done lads.
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Round Robin Game 2 - UCC vs. Trinity College School (tournament host).
Round Robin Game 2 - UCC vs. Trinity College School (tournament host).
The U16 Blues continued their strong play with a 7-0 victory over TCS.
Goalie Oliver Rebanks won his first game between the pipes for the Blues, posting the second shutout of the day. The Blues are playing confident hockey in front of a solid goaltending tandem of Rebanks and Dylan Meanchos. Rebanks' solid play was complemented by plenty of run support, with the Blues enjoying a 46-4 shot differential.
TCS was fresh in the first period and played a tough brand of hockey, forcing UCC to compete hard on every play. After a number of missed opportunities, team catalyst Kyan Haldenby capitalized on pressure around the Bears' net to break the goose egg. Kyan is playing unbelievable hockey and his teammates are in awe of his skills as they enjoy watching his every shift. Every time Haldenby hops over the boards the boys know good things are going to happen. Near the end of the period, power forward Rex McArthur scored on a hard shot along the ice to end the first stanza on a high note. The coaches were thrilled to see a goal off of a strong, low shot, as the Blues have sent a number of pucks into arena rafters with missed high shots throughout their first 4 games of the season.
The definition of art is the application of creativity and mastery. This describes the Blues performance in the second frame to a tee. The Blues notched 19 shots on the strength of pin-point-passing, flawless breakouts, and suffocating zone pressure. A particularly notable shift was had by Owen Eubanks, where he first threw a big hit, then made a thrilling dash completed by a tape-to-tape stretch pass to Luke Pitblado, who deftly deposited the puck in the top shelf of the TCS net with a defender draped all over him. Moments later, loveable and gritty power forward Zain Assaf sniped one home, bringing the score to 4-0 heading into the intermission.
The final period featured more dominating play by the Blues. Three more goals were scored to seal the deal. Ben Atkinson demonstrated impressive hand-eye coordination on a skilled tip-in goal, Owen Eubanks scored from distance on a bank play, utilizing an opposing player's face mask to redirect the puck into the net, and finally the pièce de résistance, a beautiful top shelf rocket by Rex McArthur. Rex made no mistake with his heavy shot as he was afforded time and space in the slot.
From this write-up, it may sound like TCS had a bad game, they did not. They are a well coached team and play hard. Their tenaciousness forced even some of our most experienced and talented players into taking penalties resulting in power plays. Unfortunately for TCS, the Blues were determined with their aggressive penalty kill and were not to be denied on this day.
Unsung heroes of the game were back-checker extraordinaire, Christian Coffey, and David Wood, whose focused efforts contributed greatly to Rebanks' shutout. The young man known as Woody has quietly put up 4 points in 4 games from the back-end, tied for the team lead in scoring amongst Blues defensemen as a Grade 9 rookie. He shares the honour at this point in the season with veteran Cam Scott.
The coaches would like to thank the boys for their effort and are thrilled with the team bonding occurring during our first four games of the year.
The Blues return to action tomorrow (Friday November 30th) for Day 2 of the TCS tournament with their third round robin game and crossover playoff game slated on the schedule.
The Blues return to action tomorrow (Friday November 30th) for Day 2 of the TCS tournament with their third round robin game and crossover playoff game slated on the schedule.
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