Nov 23, 2019 | sgellow | 1013 views
Stars Send a Message in kickoff to Silver Stick Weekend
You know how sometimes you go to wash your hands in a public washroom, maybe in the mall or at an airport, and then the water blasts in an unexpectedly straight-at-the-front-of-your pants kinda way? And then you walk around for the next hour or so feeling nervous that strangers walking past will assume you have peed yourself? Well, Pee Wee 2 players at the arena mid-Saturday morning with that same nervous feeling - dryer pants - but still nervous about the Silverstick Tournament that occupied the weekend ahead.
You know how sometimes you go to wash your hands in a public washroom, maybe in the mall or at an airport, and then the water blasts in an unexpectedly straight-at-the-front-of-your pants kinda way? And then you walk around for the next hour or so feeling nervous that strangers walking past will assume you have peed yourself? Well, Pee Wee 2 players at the arena mid-Saturday morning with that same nervous feeling - dryer pants - but still nervous about the Silverstick Tournament that occupied the weekend ahead. The stakes were made clear to the Stars - they held destiny in their hands: wins would mean moving further in the tournament, and losses would make for a short tourney.
The puck was dropped, and with speed of three hundred and eleven startled gazelles, the Stars sprang over sticks, tracked down the puck, and began applying pressure upon the Thornton Bears. Three goals on the board after the first period sent a clear message to the fans - they were going to be witness to another Pee Wee pressure cooker. The Bears mounted a counterattack in the second period, notching a pair of goals, but the Stars committed to allowing no more, netting a pair of their own in the second and playing a masterful defensive third period to record a victory in this first game.
And that's the long story told short. But Stars don't do short. Stars don't accept shortcomings, they don't take shortcuts, and they rarely (if ever) wear short shorts. So what follows is a slightly more verbose version of events.
Jack broke Bears' hearts early in the game by burying the first tally past the stunned defense and gobsmacked goalie. His eyes lit up with joy after his hard work in practices had again paid off at game time. Adam and Cole owned the neutral zone the entire game, forechecking aggressively, and creating scoring opportunities on the Bear's netminder, and this build-up would be meaningless unless Adam was rewarded with a goal in this first Silver Stick match of the tournament. In fact, Adam scored so cleanly that a beret-and-fake-moustache-sporting Mike Babcock in beige corduroy pants, hiding deep in the pack of fans cheering for the hometown squad, sent the attacking line a nod of respect, closed his sketch pad, walked through the lobby and out into the warm early afternoon.
Logan was later named Stars' game MVP for a selfless pass when bearing down as part of a two-on-one with Pozzy. Logan led the attack, carrying the puck wide and drawing the defenseman away from Zach, who then outwaited the goalie and re-introduced puck to twine as the scoreboard was again in need of an update. Jay-Bob the Magnificent battled down low shift after shift, forcing turnovers and sending Bear's player back to their bench asking, "What slight of hand be thus?" Magic Jay-Bob - that's who. Lexi went on to frustrate the Bears' attempts to take possession and create offensive chances by tying up sticks, clearing pucks, and forcing action to the front of the opponent's net.
Unless you saw the scoresheet, you might assume that Grayson and Benny spent the game eating ham sammiches and drinking orange sport drink (from concentrate). But Sun's-Out Guns-Out Gellow and Unicorn of the Month Nominee for July and August 2018, Benny Edwards, played a complete two-way game, scoring and setting up others nearly every shift they spent on the ice, all while harassing the Bears' attackers into scores of turnovers.
Defensive dynamos James and Daynen drove their opponents batty by breaking up attacks and getting pucks deep in the offensive end to keep the Bears under constant pressure. Mateo's decision-making was on point, pinching, passing and attacking with great timing and earning the red line before sending pucks deep and getting line changes. Liam and Serenity traded looks at the net, making great decisions on when to shoot, pass or dump the puck back in the corner. While Liam's steady stick sent a handful of clappers toward the net, it was one of Serenity's shots that pinballed through the crowd and landed on a teammate's paddle and subsequently found the back of the net for another Stars tally.
Finally, the Bears bench staff asked how long the Stars had been stocking the net with Pirates because the thievery between the posts was in clear violation of Maritime Law. Connor stood tall in net, making great saves and controlling the pace of action in the blue paint by breaking up cross-crease passes and shutting down breakaway attempts.
The Bears are a great team, and the challenge the Stars faced was just the first of what we hope to be many more during this Silverstick weekend. Innisfil represents the next hurdle to leap en route to a strong finish this weekend.
As the Stars packed their bags with sweat-logged equipment and marched proudly out of the dressing rooms, hockey mom and SEAL Team 6 Team Leader Erin Pozzebon announced, "I am the law. I AM THE LAWWWWWW!" Bob and Zach got the message, as did the rest of the team, and all Stars players committed, shaken by Erin's show of power, to another full effort in their next game Saturday night against Innisfil.