Oct 07, 2016 | mdowner | 1158 views
"We Just Needed That One Win..."
"We just needed that one win, to give the boys that confidence" stated Head Coach Clive Moody with a sly smile. "This makes them feel like they can compete".
The Mattamy Homes Minor Peewee Preds pulled out an impressive win over the Central Ontario Wolves Thursday evening on home ice.
After struggling in games against Quinte and Ajax the past couple of weekends, the boys hit the ice, with the echo of Assistant Coach Scotty Sime's last words in the dressing room... "Just compete boys, COMPETE!" Compete they did!
The Wolves came out fast and furious and got on the board in the first 30 secs of the first period. The Preds shook off the quick goal from the opposition and got to work. They are finally beginning to realize that with continual hard work, it begins to pay off.
The first period brought end to end play with excellent puck movement by the Preds, keeping it out of their own end. With Central Ontario in penalty trouble, the Preds took advantage. At 5:13 in the first, a major shift erupted. On a line change, T Stanford fed a crisp pass to the quick feet of N. Mowry who patiently waited, took a shot and buried it in the back of the net to tie it up. Less than a minute later K. Jessome took a look from the blue line and got it to Mowry to go up 2-1. With just under two minutes left in the first, Stanford popped in another unassisted to end the 1st with a 3-1 lead.
Although the second period was chock full of penalties by both teams, the Preds fought hard through them, continued to battle, forecheck and move the puck well out of their own end. At 11:04 of the 2nd, D-Man S. Power fed Mowry with a great pass and he flew up the ice and netted another. The Preds D continued showed their improved strength and puck movement, when C. Thayer got the puck to Stanford to increase the score to 5-1. Mowry and Jessome hooked up again to light the lamp and bring the score to 6-1 at the end of the 2nd.
The third period saw the Preds intensity wane somewhat and with penalty trouble resulting, the Wolves jumped on this, took advantage and did their best to battle back bringing the score to 6-4 at the final buzzer. T. Scott was a beast between the pipes and made amazing saves to keep his Preds team on top.
What may seem like just a "win" to most, was a magical moment for these players who have been struggling to find the recipe for their first victory of the regular season. Way to go boys. Incredible effort given by each and every player!