Almaguin Minor Hockey
by Debbie Rogers
Nov 21, 2007
It was another busy week for Almaguin Minor hockey teams as players took to the ice at home and on the road.
Novice: On Nov. 17 the Novice Ice Devils hosted the Huntsville Otters. The Novice Devils played their most exciting game of the year. The Devils hit the ice flying and had many good scoring opportunities in the first period. From a fan’s stand point all Novice Ice Devil players combined for their best effort of the year. It is encouraging to see the hard work and dedication provided by the coaching staff is starting to pay off. The Ice Devils scored early in the first period with a goal by Sam Pauley assisted by Cody Smith accounting for the only scoring in period one. During the second period both teams shared scoring opportunities, with the scoring remaining 1-0 for the home side. The third period picked up where the second period left off with excitement and intensity. Although the momentum stared to swing towards the Otters, the Ice Devils continued to battle on each and every play. Huntsville did tie the score mid-way through the third period, putting all parents and fans on the edge of their seats. Jericho Arsenault stood her ground, keeping the Ice Devils even. With fewer than three minutes remaining Sam Pauley scored his second goal of the game with assists going to Braden May and Owen Johnstone. Just a month earlier these same Ice Devils lost 8-1 to the Huntsville Otters. Final score on this day, Ice Devils 2-1 winners over Huntsville. Way to go Devils!!
Atoms: The Atom Ice Devils travelled to Port Carling to host the Thunder. The Atom Devils coaching staff shuffled the lines with instant success. Both first period goals went to Tyler Young with Dillion Flynn assisting on goal number one, Simon Holenski and Dryden Sollman assisting on the second. The newly formed “kid line” played a strong game with Thomas Smith scoring the third goal with assists going to Brett Joiner and Dryden Sollman. The team worked hard and won many of the puck battles, carrying much of the play. Also deserving mention was Brett Joiner with his first full game centring the Kid Line, killing penalties and winning key face offs, Rylan Anger for his quick puck movement on defence and Dillion Flynn for his strong physical presence at both ends of the ice. Final score Ice Devils 3-0 over the Thunder with the shutout going to Keaton Parker in net. On Nov. 18 the team travelled to Bracebridge, although the team was out worked in the first period they only managed to give up one goal. However, during the second period Bracebridge scored 5 unanswered goals before the Ice Devils notched their only goal of the day, scored by Tyler Young, assisted by Brett Joiner and Dillion Flynn. The final score was an 8 – 1 victory for Bracebridge. The Ice Devils continue to improve and will work hard during the next two weeks in anticipation for their next league game against Port Carling in Burk’s Falls December 2nd at 3:30 pm.
Peewees: The peewees travelled to Baysville to play the Bracebridge Bears this past Friday night. Almaguin came out fast posting a 4-0 lead after one period. This pace continued into the second with the score 8-0 for Almaguin going into the third. The third period was much the same with the Devils scoring four more goals skating away to a 12-0 victory.
The win was led by Russell Cogan, who potted four goals, and John Mark Penman who had a hat trick of his own. Other goals went to Connor Lawes, Brady Anger, Britt Whitehead and Ralphie Barton. The Peewees were off to Minden for two games against the Highland Storm on Sunday afternoon. In game one the Ice Devils came out strong with two quick goals by Bryan Austin and Matthew Chapman. The Storm scored late in the fist period to make it a 2-1 game going into the second. Almaguin scored three unanswered goals by Russell Cogan, Connor Lawes, and John Mark Penman to go ahead 5-1. In the third the Ice Devils outscored the Storm four goals to one. Almaguin’s goals were scored by Britt Whitehead, Ralphie Burton and two more netted by Russell Cogan to give him the hat trick. The final score was 9-2 for the Devils. In the second game Almaguin went ahead 1-0 in the first period on a goal from Ralphie Burton. In the second Connor Lawes scored three goals for the natural hat trick and helped the Ice Devils to a 4-0 lead going into the third. Connor Lawes scored again in the third and Russell Cogan finished the scoring with a late period goal to help Almaguin win by a score of 6-0. Dylan Murdoch played a solid game in net to earn him the shutout.
Bantams: On Nov. 4 the team resumed regular season play against Gravenhurst in Burk’s Falls. Almaguin opened the score 90 seconds into the first when Jacob Phinney picked up a loose puck at the red line and went in all alone on a bad change by Gravenhurst. Phinney made no mistake and deeked the goalie to give the Devils a one goal lead. Gravenhurst came back with two goals before Tyson Whitehead tied the affair with a strong slap shot from the point on a beautiful set-up starting with Thomas Stevens’ pass to Whitehead’s defensive partner Justin Simser who slid the puck over to Whitehead. Gravenhurst would answer shortly after to end the first ahead by one. Shaw Baker tied the game at 7:43 of the second finishing good passes from Thomas Stevens and Brandon Arnold with a slap shot that found the lower right corner. Again Gravenhurst answered and at the end of two where up again by one. Brandon Arnold tied the game 55 seconds into the third finding the five hole after an end to end rush splitting the defence. Again Gravenhurst would regain the lead two minutes later. Almaguin pulled goaltender Tanton with a minute and a half left in the third and had 4 shots on net but were unable to tie the game losing by a final 5 to 4. The Devils played an exhibition game the following Saturday against the North Bay Minor Bantam AA squad. In a fast paced game which saw the Devils kill off 14 minutes more in penalties than their opponents the Devils ended up on the wrong end of a 9 to 1 loss. David Henderson had Almaguin’s only unassisted goal. Taking their exhibition loss in stride the Devils played a league game against Parry Sound the next day. Although the North Bay game was lopsided the Devils showed good positional play and are continuing to improve their passing skills and teamwork. Almaguin opened the scoring four minutes into the first with Nils Sebastian rifling home a wrist shot assisted by David Henderson and Justin Simser. The Devils would build on their lead with a pair of goals by Henderson still in the first. Earning assists on the markers were JJ Lamb, Stephen Opatovsky, and Tyson Whitehead with a pair. Parry Sound responded with one goal to end the first with the boys ahead 3 to 1. Thomas Stevens broke in on a pass from Whitehead and Shaw Baker and made no mistake with a hard shot from the slot to widen the Devils lead. Stevens wasn’t done and added another marker in the third with assists going to Simser and Jordan Eastman. The number of assists handed out shows the team play that was happening and the Bantams earned a 5 to 3 win with a final shots on goal of 43 to Parry Sound’s 16. The coaches awarded Thomas Stevens the game puck for his hustle and strong team play both offensively and defensively. With only 16 shots allowed the defensive unit of Whitehead, Simser, Brandon Arnold, and Cole Hampel put one of their best efforts forward.
Midget AE: The team faced off against Bracebridge on Saturday, Nov. 17 in South River. The midgets had faced Bracebridge the previous week and played a strong game falling just short. This outing found the team missing a few key players and brought up Jordan Leggett to help out in their absence. Jordan was up to the challenge and helped out the team with his presence on ice. Dustin French was outstanding in net as he stopped numerous shots in the first and kept the score close enabling his team to have a chance and it was 3-1 going into the second in favour of Bracebridge. Almaguin’s goal scored by Pat Skiffington and assisted by Colin MacKay and Tyler Boden. Dustin was just as impressive in the second as he played a stand up game with a butterfly style stop. He stopped what would have been a goal by stopping the puck while falling backward in net. The team scrambled in the second and made some rushed plays which enabled Bracebridge to go ahead by one more on a play that saw the puck drop behind the goalie. It was 4-1 going into the third when Chad Schmidt took his place between the pipes. Kade Gray was a force on the ice and made some nice plays taking a power shot that was stopped by the Bracebridge net minder. Not without some chances Almaguin could not muster another goal and lost focus in the third as tensions mounted on ice. The final score was 7-1 in favour of Bracebridge.
Midget: The SSJ arena was the place to be Friday night Nov. 16 as the Midgets took to the ice to face the top ranked team from Parry Sound. With a full crowd to cheer on the home team the boys came out to make a hockey game of it and were off to a fast start as they matched the visitors’ fast-paced skating and puck handling skills. Ryan Whitney made some awesome saves in the first period which enabled the team to stay in the game as they stepped it up and forced plays to make things happen. Darren Stack was a welcome addition and was a force. His lightning speed and puck handling skills helped the team on the rush. Keeping it simple and doing all the little thing right the whole team stepped up to the plate and contributed. The team held Parry Sound to one goal and it was a 1-0 hockey game in favour of Parry Sound going into the second period. Brody Brimacombe made a diving play to stop a sure breakaway and it was just one of many plays the team made to elevate their play and impress the fans. The game was intense and Almaguin had a few opportunities to put one away but the Parry Sound net minder was stand up in net and denied Almaguin on numerous occasions. Greg Arnold played a strong game and had some beauty blasts from the point but the puck could not get by the visitors goalie as Greg was robbed of a couple goals. It was still anyone’s game going into the third with the score still 1-0. Both teams battled in the corners and would not give an inch. Parry Sound buried another with 4:55 left in the game to put them ahead 2-0. Pulling the goalie, Almaguin dominated play in the visitors end but could not buy a goal. The game ended 2-0 but a total team effort made the game feel like a win for the boys who have battled hard of late to make things happen. It was a vast improvement from the last outing the Devils played against Parry Sound and enjoyable evening of hockey for all the fans in attendance. On Sunday afternoon the team played host to Huntsville. Down four regular players, two defensemen due to injuries, Almaguin did not seem to have the same jump on Sunday as they stepped on the ice. Almaguin’s bench was a little short, missing some key players, while Huntsville had a full squad and within the first few minutes of play had netted their fist goal. Down 4-0 in the second the Devils rallied and put some pressure on the visitors making things happen at the net. Cycling the puck down low in and around the net Zach Attwell made a beauty play to get the puck out front to Corey Rogers who was in perfect position to take the pass and fired it in giving Almaguin there first goal of the game. The Devils came out with some jump in the third and although down 5-1 netted a goal within the first few minutes. Brody Brimacombe took shot tipped in by Calvin Jeffery making it a 5-2 game. The game would end 6-2 in favour of Huntsville, but once again it was a much better outing this time around then the first time these two teams faced off. The Devils will now focus on competing in the North Bay Big Brothers’ Tournament, Nov. 23, 24 & 25.
The Almaguin Minor Hockey season continues to heat up with teams competing in league, tournament and exhibition play. Come out to one of the local arenas and catch some serious minor hockey as teams take to the ice. See you at the rink.
Editorial
