Hello again from the nation's capital !
Thank you all for the B-day greetings. Happy Birthday Rick !
We had a most enjoyable weekend in Pembroke at the Silver Stick Pembroke Regional Hockey Tournament. The Rangers went undefeatded in the round robin, semi-final and final. It was very exciting hockey. The boys started a little slow on Friday night but squeaked a win against the Kingston Canadians 2-1. Once again we were saved by brilliant goal tending and an awesome defense. The boys and parents were pumped with adrenaline after the first win. The boys celebrated with chocolate milk and Mr Sub sandwiches after the game. The parents celebrated with a few cocktails after we sent the boys to bed. We were shut down at 10:50pm so we were also early to bed.
Most folks took advantage of the morning and slept in. Carter and Paula as well. Randy was up with the birds enjoying breakfast before most of the others were out of bed. He then went for a ride in the car searching for espresso. The local McD's had recently been renovated into a McCafe ensuring plenty of caffeine through out the weekend. Two Double Espresso's please before each game - superstitious or what! The team had lunch booked at Boston Pizza at 11:30. We had submitted our orders on Wednesday so the food would be ready soon after our arrival. We had to be at the rink no later than 1:00pm for our two o'clock game.
The boys came out on fire for our second game. They were playing their best hockey of the season against the Belleville Jr Bulls. The final score was 5-1, Yahoo! Everyone was in a very happy mood after that game.
Our next game was scheduled for 7:00pm against the Cobourg Jr Cougars. We had scouted their first two games. They are number one in their league and had yet to be scored on in the tournament. The Rangers were well fed and watered before returning to the rink. Carter ate like a horse all weekend replenishing burnt calories. You would not believe how much he ate... I guess he knew because he skated and played to the best of his abilities all weekend. Anyhow, back to game three. The Cobourg team is a group of mostly big tough looking players. One was as tall as Randy. After the game we noticed he had a Movember stash. WHAT! We should have carded him for his age. We were certian he drove himself to the rink. These kids totally intimidated the other teams so much that no one would go near them and especially not go into the corner against them. Our guys did just that and out skated them at every drive. Their goalie was no slouch and could handle our shots on net. Our defense played especially well though and thwarted many shots from the goalie. On one occasion mustache boy was charging in from a well passed puck just before the blue line. Carter was charging just as fast backwards. He layed his shoulder against the behemoth and piled him onto the ice. The kid didn't know what hit him. The crowd cheered in favour. Randy glanced at the ref, no penalty call, just a nice clean check. It took the kid a couple moments to get up and skate off to the bench. He wasn't seen again for at least three shifts. The Rangers ended the game with an exciting 2-1 victory. The Cougars were not good losers - a bit unsportsmanlike. Oh well. The other teams watching were shell shocked they had lost and could be heard cheering for the Rangers.
Carter made several nice checks throughout the tournament. He also spent at least six minutes in the penalty box. He also did a great job of playing short handed 4 on 5 and even 3 on five. He made several excellent back checks that we wish we had on video. He shared his opinions with the referees on several occasions especially when he got a penalty or when the opposition came near our goalies. He was quite gracious in his delivery, a bit sarcastic maybe, but he was never called for unsportsmanlike behaviour. Overall he had a great tournament.
The semi-final turned out to be against the Kingston Canadians. We were hoping to play another team but Kingston and Cobourg were the other leaders. The Canadians came out looking a bit tired and we soon had a 2-0 lead. The Rangers were playing like they had the last two games and were not going to lose this game. They gave up two goals in the third period and the game finished 2-2. Overtime had to be played to determine the winner. Randy was totally nervous so ran outside for a smoke not knowing if he wanted to watch. Carter started on defense in the three on three game (with the goalie of course). Randy quickly returned and watched from the balcony. The period was almost over and all the players were exhausted. With 50 seconds left on the clock Carter returned once again to take a shift on defense. He passed the puck up to a free forward and decided to be aggressive and follow him. He was a bit slow and was soon being challenged. Carter was open on the left and started pounding his stick on the ice. He received the pass then quickly whipped the puck into the top right side hitting the post and into the net. It was pandimodium on the ice. Our team was off to the finals. We must repeat that our goalie was totally on fire this game and made some excellent saves. We were so proud that Carter had scored the winning goal - his first goal of the tournament.
The finals were to be played in approximately 90 minutes. We had only that much time to get them undressed, fed, re-hydrated and to the other rink. Luckily the other rink was running thirty minutes late giving the boys some extra time to rest. The Cobourg team had won their semi-final game handily and hadn't had to play overtime. The Rangers looked a tad fatigued but they gathered all their energy to play a great final. Our goalie was definitely the player of the game. He made several excellent saves and on two occasions had his stick ripped from his hands and kicked to the side of the rink by the opposition. They were crafty little unsportsmanlike buggers. They also had a knack for falling to the ice when they got hit earning them an academy award nomination. Luckily the referee was also aware of these antics. He gave a group of their fathers standing along the glass their final warning or they were going to be kicked out of the arena. They were totally obnoxious. Anyhow, the referee for the most part let the boys play. He called a few stupid penalties like one to us for interferring with OUR OWN goalie ???????????????????.
Anyhow, it was a very exciting final. The Rangers led the game up until the last 38 seconds of the game. The Cougars pulled their goalie and scored two seconds after winning the face off. Well you would have thought they had won the stanley cup. They were lifting their arms encouraging more cheers from their crowd. OMG. The game went to a second play off period. We finally scored and ended the game. The boys and the crowd cheered the same as we did for the semi. The celebration continued with the traditionl skate around the rink with each player holding up the cup, then pictures etc. It was very thrilling and exciting. The boys each won a Champions T-shirt and silver stick pin. wWe now travel to Point Hudson Michigan in mid January for the Silver Stick finals.
This is our second Silver Stick. Carters rep B team won last year in Cobourg.
We returned home shortly after the game emptying the hockey bag to wash the items for a game tonight against our local arch nemisis Silver Seven Black. They are much like the Cobourg Cougars. Hopefully the boys play like they did in Pembroke and continue the winning streak.
Have a great week!
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