Dec 01, 2013 | SCorrigan | 501 views
Week 8 Results & Playing Time
This weekend a pair of teams took part in the OHL Guelph Storm Experience, one HL team took on a Waterloo team, there were a trio of games with mixed results and we had a medical scare as well. Very busy times indeed.
The last point, the medical scare, involved a referee who grew faint in the last of the three Sunday night games. The trainers from the Penguins and Devils, Dino Delegianis and Ken Jones, responded immediately and handled the entire event professionally. Thankfully the young referee seems like he will be ok but it was a sobering moment for everyone on the ice and in the stands.
Back on Friday the Hurricanes and Senators took to the ice before a Guelph Storm game and got to play in the amazing Sleeman Centre. By all accounts the game was fun, and the entire evening was a blast for the kids. During the game the Hurricanes fell 8-3 to the Senators. The Hurricanes relied offensively on Tyrus Morissette (2g) and Jacob Brun (1g, 1a). However the night seems to have belonged to any Senators named Cam, both Bonneville (4g, 1a) and Hutchinson (1g, 5 a) were huge.
Also on Friday night the Blackhawks took on the Waterloo Lighting in another exhibition game and they just poured on the offense from the drop of the puck the final whistle. Devon Taylor opened the game with a natural hat trick and Dylan Corrigan also had a hatrick. The final score was 11-2.
The Blackhawks simply picked up where they left off on Friday night with the same two boys lighting the lamp on Sunday evening, Devon Taylor had 4 goals and Dylan Corrigan had 3 goals. Their opponent, the Sharks, were no pushovers, even though they came out on the short end of an 8-4 loss. The game was 3-0 after the first but some hard work by Cater Lynch (1g, 1a) and a sweet deke by Mathew Corriveau had the game all even at 3-3 with 2 minutes to go in the second. By the third the Sharks just seemed to lose a little of their legs and that cost them in the end.
The second game was a rematch from Friday between the Hurricanes and Senators. The natural hat trick by the Senators Brady Read was nice to see but really it was the shutout goaltending by Jack Murphy that was the real show stopper. The Hurricanes had some great chances with Ethan Soares, Jacob Brun and Tyrus Morissette all earning breakaways thanks to some hard work in their own defensive end. The final was 5-0 but this was a really entertaining game, perhaps the marque match up of the night.
The final game saw the undefeated Devils take to the ice against the Penguins. Despite a hard working goal by Brayden Braganca and a rocket by Nick Delegianis, the Penguins fell short on this night. The Devils Justin Willsie netted a hat trick on three great shots and was a bit of a show stopper. The real highlight though was the Devil's first goal of the game since it was also Taryn Rose's first goal of his CMHA career - that is always special. The additional behind the scene drama was that Taryn had forgotten his helmut at home and was lucky enough to play only after borrowing another player's helmut.
Finally, the issue of equal playing time has reared its head (as it does pretty much every season). I really appreciate the feedback from parents and coaches on this matter when at the rink and it is something I try to watch closely. This is HOUSE LEAGUE - this is not a rep program. That means equal playing time for all players. It doesn't matter if you are a star player or a kid who only laced up skates for the first time last month. Each player deserves the same playing time. Granted, a stop watch mentality is going overboard since different shifts take different energy - bumping and grinding versus fast rushes versus broken neutral zone play for example. But all those types of shifts should balance out somewhat over a game and the playing time should be relatively close. Additionally, each player deserves the same chance to be on the ice in the last minute of a game, whether in the lead, tied or down. There have been a couple of issues and I have as convener addressed them both.