U16A Whalers tale of two cities
The U16A Whaler hockey team played in two very different games this past weekend, the first against the Metro Maple Leafs and the second against the Richmond Royals these were games two and three of the regular season.
Saturday’s game resulted in a 5-3 Whalers victory, there were a lot of first’s for the Whalers in this game. This was the first win in the regular season, and first for net minder Brandon Dearborn playing between the pipes, Dearborn is credited with the win saving eighteen of the Maple Leafs twenty one shots. As predicted Tyler Snoots made the impact that was anticipated opening the scoring with a feed from Trevor Vonu and Shawn Ziegler, Snoots would then score again in the first period this time unassisted. The Maple Leafs would answer both the Whalers goals in the first and end the period all knotted up at two apiece. The second period would see spectacular saves and strong defense and would end with no goals scored by either team. Ryan Schaum would open the third period with an unassisted goal and his first of the regular season. Trevor Vonu came up big burying a feed from Tyler Snoots and Jack Hopkins and is credited with the first Game Winning Goal (GWG) of the season. Shawn Rose gave the Whalers some insurance rounding out the Whalers scoring at five with his second of the season. The most impressive stat didn’t make the score sheet, it was the demonstrated dominance over the face off dot by forward Michael Shea, powerfully winning twelve of his sixteen puck drops for a seventy five percent win ratio, Shea also lead the team in the plus minus column with a plus 2 rating in this game. “This is a game of touches and possession which all start with winning the face off, Shea keeps proving over and over again he is not a sometimes kind of guy, Shea is going to give his line mates his all every shift” said Coach Joe Mastropasqua
The following day’s game was much more of a defensive battle against the Royals who came out strong in the opening period, outshooting the Whalers 10-5. By the last buzzer the Royals had peppered Whaler net minder Zach Potter with thirty two shots from every angle, and were only able to muster nineteen offensive shots on the Royals net minder. The only Whalers highlight aside from the spectacular saves Zach Potter was continuously making was when Shawn Rose buried a feed from Patrick Timby and found the back of the net scoring the only Whaler goal. Potter played with exceptional focus but is saddled with the 4 to 1 lose after making twenty eight of thirty two saves.
It was the coaching staff’s opinion that the team failed not in being prepared but in staying composed under pressure. The coaches message “Trust the process because most of the time it will get you to where you want to go”.
The team's next challenges will be battling two more CBHL opponents; up for grabs are four more points this weekend. The Whalers will be hosted by the Charlottesville Bears on Saturday and the Baltimore Stars on Sunday. "This weekend will show a lot about the character of this team, adjustments will be made but it will be up to the players to believe in the system and execute as we know they can." Said Coach Keith Carroll