Nov 4-5 Weekend Recap, News, U13 Blue, 2023/2024 (South County Predators)

Another 2-game weekend has come and gone and what an exciting one it was! With two exhibition games lined up our team went out there and fought hard, showing their opponents and fans what they’ve got!

Our first match of the weekend was a matinee game at Atlas Tube Centre arena against Lakeshore White – our second exhibition game with them this season. The SCP Blue started the game strong with most of the first period being played in the offensive zone. Their efforts finally paid off with 0:46 left on the clock when Lexie Renaud made a beauty pass from behind the net to Blair Davis who was out front ready to shoot one in – and that she did with a quick shot that found the back of the net! With the scoring open the Preds didn’t back down in the second period – starting with Olivia who wouldn’t let anything past her, the 3 D who worked hard at not letting many shots make it to our net, and the forwards who did a fantastic job at chipping it out of our zone and getting pucks to the offensive net. Our second goal of the game came as a result of a rush by Elle Brinacombe at 3:52 in the 2^nd period. With a 2-goal lead we told the girls not to let up and keep attacking the puck (ATP) heading into the 3^rd. The 3^rd period continued much like the rest of the game with the Preds showing control and skill as they continued to dominate. Elle Brinacombe would score her second goal of the game at 6:05 with a rush that broke through Lakeshore’s defense and a shot that their goalie couldn’t stop. With our team buzzing Lakeshore had enough and threw pucks to the net hoping something would land. A hard-fought battle in the corner was won by Lakeshore who passed the puck out front of our net where their forward was waiting. With a quick lift of the opponent’s stick it looked like we were in the clear, but a quick thinking Lakeshore forward tried again as the puck was passing through the slot and found the back of our net, putting Lakeshore on the board at 5:04 and closing out the scoring. The Preds came out on top with a 3-1 win and shots on goal in our favour 15-12. Lexie Renaud was our hardest worker of the game, taking home the orange vest for her determination and drive which resulted in an assist and many crucial plays getting the puck out of our zone. We face Lakeshore White once more in 2023 for a regular season game on December 3^rd at 7:00pm in Harrow.

Our second and final game of the weekend was a late one Sunday night in our home barn against Essex Orange – a strong opponent (and rival) for the last three years. The time change may have had us feeling tired, but you wouldn’t have noticed it in our players once they hit the ice! Sunday’s game was a lot faster and more intense compared to Saturday’s game, with Essex coming out the gate strong. Essex would open the scoring at 6:29 in the 1^st period. Our Preds felt the pressure and pumped up the intensity to match the energy Essex was putting out. Elle Brinacombe put us on the scoreboard with an end-to-end rush at 5:22 in the 1^st. The remaining goals of the game would continue to come back-to-back which was sure to have everyone on the edge of their seat and hearts racing! Essex took the lead again only 38 seconds after our first goal at 4:44. The Preds wouldn’t let Essex get too comfortable though and tied the game again 45 seconds later at 3:59 – Sophie Gobbo carried the puck into the offensive zone and passed to the right where Lexie Renaud was skating hard towards the net. A quick pass back from Lexie gave Sophie a clear shot from the slot that whizzed by the Essex goalie and would be her first goal of the game with an apple for Lexie. An exciting first period would come to an end with the game tied 2-2. Sophie Gobbo would get her second goal of the game early in the 2^nd period at 8:34 when she intercepted a defense-to-defense pass Essex could not land on our blue line – she poked the puck with her stick knocking it out of our zone which gave her a clear opening up the middle of the ice which resulted in a breakaway goal. Everly Parisien would get an assist on the goal with a hard pass up the boards that led to Essex’s failed pass attempt. The Preds would hold their first lead of the game for just under a minute when Essex forward #5 scored her third goal of the game at 7:38. It was clear that #5 had skills but our goalie and defense were ready to shut her down – Olivia would continue to make incredible saves that truly kept us in the game, while our defense used what they had learned in practice and angled oncoming opponents to the boards taking away shots from the slot and breakaways. Again, the period would end in a tie: 3-3. The final period didn’t let up with both teams looking for a win and the crowd roaring. Essex would take the lead yet again at 9:34 with a rolling puck that just trickled in after Olivia made the initial save and the defense couldn’t quite get their stick behind. With the clock winding down the Preds were desperate to even the score – there were many great battles by our forwards all around the Essex net that just wouldn’t land. Elle Bezaire showed a strong drive that resulted in many chances around the net – keep persisting and soon one is going to find the back of the net! With the longest gap between goals all game (3 minutes 27 seconds) Elle Brinacombe would get the tying goal and her second of the game at 5:57. Elle stopped the puck at the blue line and fired it towards the net where it seemed to wobble past the goalie – proving that it doesn’t always have to be pretty and sometimes all it takes is just getting the puck to the net. The final moments of the game had everyone on the edge of their seat and our girls never giving up – the game would end in a 4-4 tie with both teams and each player on Blue showing exceptional skill, heart, and grit! Our hardest worker of the game, taking home the coveted orange vest, was Olivia Versnel who faced a whopping 30 shots and had a save percentage of 86.7% with many clutch saves throughout the game! The shots were 30-14 in Essex favour showing yet again that Olivia truly kept us in the game. We won’t face Essex Orange again this half of the season but we have a feeling that we’ll see them during playoffs in 2024.

It was a great weekend of hockey with a win and a tie that these girls should be extremely proud of – I know us as coaches (and parents) sure are proud of them! It was great to see what they learned in practice come to action in a game. I saw a quote today that I wanted to share: “It’s not about being better than someone else, it’s about being better than you were the day before.” So keep shooting, keep skating, and keep trying your hardest, Preds – it’s paying off!