Day 4 at the Mac's - Corralling the Buffaloes

South Island Thunderbirds, December 29, 2008

Oddsmakers would find it tough at the Mac’s Midget Hockey Tournament.  In more than one pool, Team A gets drilled by Team B, then turns around and beats Team C so just when you think Team B should have no trouble with Team C, the pattern reverses and Team C gives Team B all they can handle.  The bottom line is that there are a lot of good teams here and no one can be taken for granted.

Take Pool 5 for example.  The Calgary Buffaloes lost a nail biter to the tough Red Deer Rebels and then gave the Edmonton CAC Canadians a real licking by a score of 8 – 1 on Saturday night.  Then Edmonton re-focused and beat the South Island Thunderbirds 6 – 3 on Sunday afternoon.  When the Thunderbirds took the ice at Max Bell Arena to play the Buffaloes on Monday, clearly the Buffaloes were expected to win and advance their bid for one of the quarterfinal playoff berths up for grabs.

Well throw out that logic as the Thunderbirds rose to the occasion and played their best hockey of the tournament in the first two periods, then hung on for dear life in the final period as the Buffaloes stampeded to the South Island net.  In the end, the final score was 2 – 2 and no doubt both teams were left to think about the missed opportunities to put the game away.

Coming off a sub-standard performance on Sunday, the South Island team showed its resilience on Monday morning and started Monday’s game with a lot of energy and discipline.  They did a much better job of getting the puck deep into the Calgary end and taking away the Buffaloes time and space through the neutral zone on their breakout. 

The T-Birds’ hard work on the forecheck led to their first goal, which came off a dump-in that was retrieved first by forward Sam Rice who outraced a Calgary defenceman to the puck in the right corner.  Rice and Wes Myron maintained possession of the puck along the end boards and worked it closer to the net.  In a scrum at the edge of the crease, Myron forced the puck into the net just inside the right post at 12:11 of the first period.  That was the only goal of the period, which saw the Thunderbirds outshoot the Buffaloes 12 – 11.

The T-Birds went up 2 – 0 early in the second period with a power play goal by Ryan Matthews, who was quick to get his stick on a rebound from a Garrett Kemmler slap shot from the point.  A total of three penalties assessed against the Buffaloes allowed South Island to control most of the first 15 minutes of the period but then the lone South Island penalty gave the Buffaloes their second power play opportunity of the game at the 15:00 minute mark.  The T-Birds were almost successful in killing the penalty but Calgary’s Chris Collins found Ryon Moser with a centering pass from behind the net and Moser one-timed it past South Island goaltender Brandon Glover to cut the margin in half.  The period ended with the score 2 – 1 and shots in the middle frame were 8 – 8.

Starting the third period, the South Island style of play noticeably changed, becoming less aggressive and offering less resistance to Calgary forwards attacking through the neutral zone.  The Buffaloes enjoyed a much more significant territorial advantage and that translated into a lot more action for Glover.

Calgary tied the game at 4:16 on a play that was very similar to the team’s first goal, though this one came at even strength.  Joel Lowry was well covered along the end boards moving to Glover’s right but Lowry managed to get the puck to Brett Pinder cruising to the net and Pinder again made no mistake with his quick shot.  For the rest of the game, Glover was ultra busy facing a total of 22 shots in that last period and he made no mistakes in blocking everything that came his way.

The action was fast and furious as the time wound down, helped along by the referee who let the players decide the game with no penalties called in those last 20 minutes.  South Island pushed back later in the period and managed 10 shots on goal overall, the team’s best chance to win coming with just two minutes remaining when a turnover in Calgary’s end allowed the T-Birds’ Wade Murphy to drive to the net from the left face-off circle all alone.  Murphy got in close but Buffaloes’ goaltender Weston Joseph came up with a big stop to preserve the tie.

The tie provided the first point of the tournament for South Island, the team’s record moving to 0 – 2 – 1.  Calgary’s record goes to 1 – 1 – 1 and its chances of catching a playoff spot will depend on the team beating Notre Dame in its final round robin game and on the outcome of a bunch of games in other pools.

South Island’s final round robin game will be on Tuesday afternoon, back at Father David Bauer Arena, where the team will face the undefeated Red Deer Rebels, who have already clinched a playoff spot with their 3 – 0 record, having beaten the Buffaloes 5 – 3, Notre Dame 4 – 3 and Edmonton 8 – 1.  It will obviously be another big test for the T-Birds but as the tournament continues to demonstrate, there are no safe bets at the Mac’s.

Bird Droppings:  Penalties did not decide this game as the totals were 10 minutes assessed against Calgary and just six against South Island.  Each team scored once on the power play… Brandon Glover was once again South Island’s game star on the strength of his 40 save performance… Final shots on goal were 13-8-10=31 for South Island and 12-8-22=42 for Calgary… The scoring summary for South Island included:  Myron (1G), Rice (1A), Matthews (1G), Kemmler (1A) and Polischuk (1A)... South Island forward Brandon Macdougall was injured after administering a huge open ice hit, leaving the game with about five minutes remaining in the second period.  He was taken to and remains at Foothills Hospital with a lacerated spleen and unfortunately will be out of action indefinitely... Day 4 was a better one overall for BC Major Midget League teams generally, achieving a collective record of 2 - 2 - 2.