Durham Lightning

Posted By: Dean F on Tuesday Nov 18, 2008

Two extremely stong periods gave us a 4-1 lead going into the third. We were pressuring the Hurricanes every time they had the puck. We were making great passes to move the puck out of our zone and the defence were controlling the play in our end.

Really pretty goals by Spencer, Josh, Graham, and Ryan. Nice heads up plays by Bryce to gain their zone and avoid getting hit when crossing their blue line. Scott looked like the puck was glued to his stick! Chris made a wicked tip in front of their net but the ref thought he touched the goalie.

Then we had the intermission. I'm pretty sure the coaches said things like "Stay focused" and "Don't think the game is over yet" and "Get out there and work hard, keep trying to score". But apparently you guys were too busy eating oranges and missed those messages. Bradley got a nice goal by blasting a shot through the goalie (first one of the season!), and I thought that would be the end of their comeback, but I was wrong. The hardest working player in the third period was Richard B. You put together two of the best shifts I've seen you play this year, good work!

Next time I bet you boys will play better when you have the lead. It's a tough thing to learn, even for NHL teams, but now you know first hand.

Stars:

Bryce R - even though you didn't score, you made some excellent plays gaining their zone, avoiding hits, and setting up your teammates for good chances on goal. I couldn't believe some of the hits you avoided, I thought you were going to get clocked, but you had your head up the whole time out there. Nice job Bryce!

Richard B - You were almost the only player inspired by the coaches during the intermission, and picked up your game in the third period. Like I told you on the bench, I know you have it in you, you just need to choose to play like you know you can! Good game Richard!

Posted By: Dean F on Monday Nov 17, 2008

Strong game on Saturday night boys! We dominated the Hurricanes in almost every aspect of the game. Too bad the game ended the way it did. I won't tolerate fighting in our league, you are all expected to control your emotions so that situations like this do not happen. There are plenty of ways to resolve a conflict that do not involve throwing punches - like putting up a score of 7 - 2.

James wasn't too busy as the defence played very well keeping the shots from the outside and clearing loose pucks from in front of the net. Much better puck control from our D when breaking out of our end, keep it up!

Two goals each from Scott and Bryce, plus 3 more from three different players and all lines getting in on the scoring. Well played game until 5 mins left.

If you all keep playing with the same intensity, we might just keep this winning streak alive.

Stars:

Scott M - another excellent game with strong forechecking causing turnovers and resulting in good scoring chances, plus a second game in a row without a penalty. Excellent work out there Scotty! (I hope you're feeling better)

Bryce R - helped by nice passing by your linemates and from the defence caused you to get some very good scoring chances. Your hard work pressuring their defence paid off with many turnovers in the neutral zone. Keep it up!

Posted By: Dean F on Saturday Nov 15, 2008

First win. Congratulations boys, we beat the best team in our league. The annual Pink stick game once again produced an incredible result. All the players dedicated their sticks to a special person who has been affected by cancer. I saw lots of grandma's and grandpa's out there playing with the boys!

A big thank you to Debbie Lewis for supplying the pink tape for the game! Another big thank you to Angi and Greg Simpson for organizing the after-game party! Greg won the 50/50 draw last night and donated his winnings to help pay for the food and drinks - thanks Greg!

Now to the players. That wasn't our prettiest game of the season, but we definitely outworked the Rebels. Connor scored a nice goal baseball style that froze the goalie. Hard work deep in their end paid off with two goals, the tying goal by Scott "I didn't get a penalty" Munro, and the game winner by Connor "I only got 1 penalty" Burgess.

Scott, Graham and Chris were all over the Rebels intercepting passes, getting good scoring chances, and pressuring the defence to make mistakes. Great work boys! Spencer, Connor and Richard looked like they were clicking too, making some excellent passes and trying to get each other a pass in the slot. Bryce, Mitch and Casey played pretty well, Bryce using his feet to block passes and get the puck up the ice to our wingers.

The Defence tonight played a fantastic game in front of James. We were first to almost every loose puck in the slot, which is the primary reason we kept the Rebels to 2 goals. The one time we left a man open in front they scored. James played another great game, but looked calm and focused, making the saves look easy because of his excellent positioning.

Tough to pick stars, but here goes:

Scott M - best game you've played all year, good pressure on the forecheck caused many turnovers and resulted in some good chances for your line. You played the way I've been wanting you to play since game 2. Don't worry about the hitting, just play hockey and we will win! I think you only had 1 hit last night, you played the puck instead and it paid off.

Connor B - 2 goals, including the game winner. You kept yourself in control, which was really nice to see, and your skill shone through. Like Scott, you didn't really hit anyone either, and it gave you more time to create chances because you had the puck! Good work!

Hurricanes tonight! Let's keep the winning streak alive!