Feb 10, 2020 | U13 AAA Mgr | 833 views
First Home Game!!!
After starting the "mini-season' on the road for four games, The Oshawa Novice AAA Generals finally got to play their first ever regular season game at home. Delpark Pad # 4 saw the Generals face off against their cross-town rivals the Clarington Toros.
Coming off of a few tough losses in a row to Central Ontario, Whitby and Quinte respectively, the coaching staff made some changes to the line up to see if some new positions could spark the boys back into the victory column. Noah John and Charlie Lucas moved from defence up to forward, while Travis Hilton and Nathan Wilkins moved back to the D from forward. It must be noted that all four players were not only receptive to the idea, but they were excited by the challenge to try something new. All four players did not disappoint in their debuts at their new positions. As this is still a developmental season, parents and fans can expect to see a few more changes in the coming weeks as the coaches see fit. Some will work out, others will not, but that is the beauty of this game, this is a season of learning and growing for these players and preparing them for many years of great hockey to come is the ultimate goal.
Back to the details of the game against Clarington. If you will recall, our first game of the season was against this very same Clarington team and I think you will all agree that this was not the same team we saw back on that day. The Toros have improved immensely and the score of 0-0 after two periods can attest to that. But our boys stuck to what they do best and that was play as a complete team. There was no way that Clarington was going to hold our boys off of the game sheet. According to the game sheet, our first goal was scored by Noah John. As great as Noah played, this was not the case, our first goal was scored by rookie sensation Addison Dionne with a wrist shot over the shoulder of the Toro goaltender. The game continued 1-0 as the Toros tried their best to get one by one of our other rookie sensations Brady Rancourt (spoiler alert - Brady gets his second shut-out of the season!). They pulled their goalie in a last ditch effort to score only to have the puck turned over and taken down the rink by Liam Johnston, yet another one of our rookie sensations, and with a beautiful, unselfish pass over to, wait for it...another rookie sensation, Charlie Lucas, who fired the biscuit into the empty net for what would be the final goal of the game to secure a 2-0 win for the Generals.
So many great things in this, a complete 3 period game by our boys. The defence has been incredibly strong for our team all year, but in this game, you can't get a shut out without great defence. Brock Ellis lead the way with incredible timely pinches and was like "a dog on a bone" all over the ice the entire game. The combination of Nathan Wilkins and Will Beattie was a sight to see, Will came out of his shell and it looks like Nate might just be a defenceman after all. They played like they have been friends for their whole lives. Travis Hilton did not get the chance we had hoped for to unleash his cannon of a shot from the blueline, but he played defence with a lot of heart and showed a great deal of growth in stepping up to the challenge presented to him by the coaching staff. I can't finish this paragraph without mentioning the other two defencemen on our squad Kaiden Menard and Ethan Soverall. These two are the heart and soul of the defensive core, every game they both play with a consistency that is unparalleled at this age. A great all around effort from the 6 defencemen on this night!
As great as the forwards played, I will save the paragraph on them for another day...they call this a teaser in the business!
Three games remain, all of them will be played in the great city of Oshawa! Check Ticketmaster and Stubhub for ticket availability.