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Click here for tournament statistics Game 1: Waterloo Wolves 1 Guelph Storm 0 This game was much like the end of the Waterloo Tourney, with the Wolves swarming the Storm but not getting the results on the scoreboard. My unofficial tally had us winning the shooting battle about 35 to 9 with Jesse having a quiet yet eventful stint in net. The game had about four stoppages for injured players and of course the scariest was Luke's in the third. With his concussion history, Duane & Michelle had plenty of company worrying. After a less than eventful first period, Bennie had the best shot go high and wide right, the Wolves turned up the heat and had numerous good chances. Finally about half way through the game Jordan snapped a slap shot from the boards that the little Storm goalie got a good piece of but failed to fully stop. The Wolves continued to get chances from just about everyone up front (Luke's shot into the glove when he was in all alone was the prettiest no goal) and a few D too, but the period ended 1-0. Third period had more great scoring chances but nothing developed. Jordan, Rhino and Nolan all had decent scoring chances. Got a bit tense with the D rushing in the final few minutes and getting caught...big NO-NO in a 1 goal game. few penalties in the game... refs had good control ... Jordan's hit in the second was prettier than the goal ... Sean won the Player of the Game Puck, Jordan the First Goal of the Game Puck and JP received the Shutout Puck and the first extra donut after the game by being the FIRST out of the dressing room...Nolan left immediately after the game sick as a dawg... John was playing under medication ... still no Jessica ... one for the memory books- having to drive to the West End Arena to individually register for the tourney (next time draw straws and have a couple of kids sign everyone in...)..Funny thing about this is that if anyone would have read the rules it was the first rule in bold on the page!...lol...our own fault - or Shulzie's!!!. Brandon should have won a puck for most hits ... Hitachi-Euclid Visit After the game the boys got to tour the Hitachi-Euclid plant to see the world's biggest trucks (...much to the envy of the fathers who had to wait at the Stampede Corral). After an informative tour and seeing why the Hummer is a sissy truck they had pizza and managed to stay out of trouble. Or at least thats what Fred is saying... thanks for giving us a quiet lunch on Friday. Game 2: Waterloo 2 Pickering 1 Guess who scored first .....yup we did again! As good as the forwards played in the morning game, the D really stepped it up in the evening tilt. With Nolan missing Hendie joined Rhino, Grrrrr, Shultzie, and Jason and the five were awesome. With the Pickering Pickles playing dump and chase our fab five handled the puck handling very well. Rarely was their any scrambling. Stephen's first shot was a wicked deflection off a foot (wanna guess which one...?) and as Mr. Rose said - he was in the zone and handled it easily. The scoring did not begin until part way through the second when Big Mac parked himself on the doorstep and slammed in a rebound to put the Wolves up one. With everyone hustling and the D solid as a rock it looked like this game was on ice - and it was until we took a semi-bad penalty deep in their zone midway in the third. Luke had three golden opportunities (and ya know what they say, as long as your getting the chances your doing it right!). Steve had his stick knocked out of his hands and they had a semi wrap-around attempt that snuck in. Too bad, but it did set the scene for a terrific rush by #2 in the final 2 minutes. Jordan went coast to coast and went around their defence deep in the corner, cut in front and banged home the winning goal - his second goal of the day (and his second game winning goal of the day). The Wolves Player of the Game award went to #77 who played a whale of a game down the middle Game 3: Waterloo 4 St. Thomas Stars 2 Funny thing about the tournament setup was that this game meant absolutely nothing to the final standings but the win did get us back to .500. Another funny thing - the streak of first goals is OVER! About five minutes into the game, the Stars strategy of screening the goalie paid off and their lead stood for almost the entire period. With a few seconds left on the clock, Luke and Sean helped setup Big Ben (our eventual Player of the Game winner) for the tying goal. It took about ten minutes into the second before we took the lead for good when Bryan and Ben moved the puck back to the point where Brian Rrrrrr unloaded a slapshot that found the back of the net courtesy of a defenseman playing goalie (goalies hate that ...hint, hint). And then the worst case scenario occurred - Colin picked up a hitting from behind penalty and was kicked out of the game and the semi-final too. With the gloom of losing our captain and leader, it was up to someone else to provide a spark. Sean immediately stepped up and put on a show during the ensuing penalty kill. His forechecking caused a turn over at their blueline and he walked in all alone from the right side. As he made his deke in front of the net he stopped, watched the goalie slide to the left and popped the puck into the right side of the net. Maybe it was the new Vapour???!!! Hendie picked up his second assist on the fourth goal when he made a great pass to Brandon who finally has the monkey off his back too. They scored another one in the final seconds of the game on a weird deflection that Jesse almost got, but instead batted it with his blocker into the roof of the net. Two scary events in the third - Jordan accidentally crashed and kicked Dom right in front of our net and a few minutes later Sean was either kicked or slashed on the back of the leg. Both returned to finish the game. Game 4 (semi finals) Waterloo 1 Owen Sound Attack 2 Without Colin, Ben played a great game winning his second player of the game puck, but the out of gas Wolves dropped a heartbreak 2-1decision to a disciplined Attack. With all our injured and sick players playing their fourth game in two days on big ice, take away Colin (and the birthday girl too) and the only way they could have won was if eveyone ate at Grandma DiGravio's for the pre-game meal! I'll recap the first period for all the parents who were late and missed it all ... both teams started out a bit slow and tentative with Steve making a couple of nice saves early to get in his groove. The only highlite was Luke scoring his first goal of the tourney to the top stick side - real beauty - might want to ask Doc for a peak at the video. The Attack tied up the game in the second and that set the stage for an awesome third period of hockey. There was one interesting play in the second - they switched goalies and within a minute Sean got a breakaway on a the cold goalie, but no break. The rolling puck, a whack from a back checker and his great scoring chance disappeared. The third had a little of everything. Steve made the play of the game making at least three saves from in close( technically three plays of the game but they were all in less than two seconds). Then Owen Sound scored on a powerplay and it looked liked the Wolves were out of gas. Thanks to a late injury and both teams calling time-outs (Lee thought she was at a basketball game...) our tired forwards got a chance to regroup. And they almost delivered on a couple of in close chances late in the third. Good tourney, positive results and we are now officially 4-2-1 without the trap with a GAA of 1.29... tidbits... Jessica made an appearance on her birthday ... Grandma DiGravio brought home made pizza to go with Doc's never ending supply of Gatorade (thanks to all the DiGravios) ... half the parents missed the first period expecting it to be late ... Steve finished the game with an undisclosed injury ... Dom and Sean also nursed skate-on-leg related injuries ... Nolan played sick too... four days to rest before next practise, most should be off antibiotics by then and we might (fingers crossed) have a full roster at practice... Waterloo 2 London Gold 4 For the gazillionth time the Wolves jumped out to a 1-0 lead (I'm just going to cut and copy that sentence from now on...) on a low shot from Dom high in the slot. With all eight forwards going full gas (John was sick home with cellulitis - not to be mistaken for cellulite... he'd never hear the end of missing a game for that reason!!!!) the game was fun to watch. Poor London had no idea what hit them for the first half of the game. The Greens scored a great backhand shot to the top corner to tie the game and then their powerplay took over scoring at least 2 of their next 3 goals on the pp. The final goal was a great effort by Sean who carried the puck into the zone wide and as he was being dumped slid a pass across to Luke who had about 16 square feet of net to use as a target. Several players really stood out last night. Mac didn't make the scoresheet but his physical 'presents' made an impression on several Goldies (especially the one who got thumped behind his net and missed his next shift). Sean was electric the entire night. Everytime he was on the ice he made things happen. Hendie is definately getting use to playing up front and wreaking (aside - coaches couldn't do the pre-game because of the "reaking") havoc all over the ice. And I thought Brandon played a great game. His almost reward was a breakaway with a rolling puck that wouldn't sit down - ya gotta hate rolling pucks on a breakaway! This might have been our best overall game of the year...
The Waterloo Memorial Tournament Friday Morning Grand Rapids Griffins 4 Waterloo Wolves 1 Grand Rapids lost the championship to Oshawa 3-2 Colin scored an unassisted goal in the first few minutes of the game and then the Michigan State champs put on a clinic in a game that had a little bit of everything. The Yanks came back mid way through the first and then took the lead for good in the final minute of the period. Then the teams left the ice for an intermission and the coaches had a new job - a mid game motivational speech. Colin's goal was a classic example of why you never quit (and everyone knows he never does!). After breaking down the left wing and cutting to the net the first shot ended up behind the goalie in the crease. Colin jammed on the breaks and reached around from behind the net to nudge the puck over the goal line. He could have easily skated by, but he kept his eye on the puck and fought off the defenceman who forgot to finish his check (another classic rule!). We only managed one more shot that period as the Yankees outshot us 13-3 and Jesse showed that a four game layoff didn't hurt. After giving up a weak one on the short side he settled into a solid game and kept the Wolves within striking distance. It was unfortunate that the winning goal was scored in the final minute of the first, before the intermission (they flood every 2 periods in the tournament) as a tie would have given them something to build. The second period continued much like the first. The Yanquis put on a display of how to play the game - everything from their breakout, to penalty killing to simple hustle was a treat to watch for a hockey fan. After stopping a 2 on 1, one of our defenceman threw his stick and that resulted in the automatic penalty shot - Jesse's favorite play. Jesse played it textbook perfect, challenged, waited, backed in and read the deke so perfectly that there was never a shot. He was really ticked off (not what I wrote the first time ...lol) - he wanted to make the save! Okay enough about my kid. Their third goal was a beauty as both defence went behind the net to play the puck and that left the slot open for a perfect pass and shot (note to dee- someone has to STAY in front of the net at all times... more goals are scored from there than anywhere else on the ice). And the second period ended 4-1. The third period was when we were entertained by their powerplay.The puck movement was as precise as a Swiss watch. I don't know how many shots they took from the right side of the slot after taking a cross ice feed - but Jesse stopped every one of them in an equally impressive display of goaltending.
Friday Night - West Ferris 1 Waterloo Wolves 1 Again the Wolves jumped out to an early lead on a great play by Brian Rrrrrr and Colin. Colin picked off a clearing pass and carried the puck over the blueline, with Rrrrrrr following close behind. Colin then dived under the defenceman's check, dropped the puck and submarined the opponent. Brian stepped into the loose puck and let a boomer go and here is where hustle paid off. Colin was on his feet in time to pick up the rebound and bury it - great heads up play by both of them! First period ended 1-0 and that setup the save of the game. Steve watched one of their players pick up a rebound to his right, skate across the crease and try to backhand it into the left side of the net. Not only did he make the great glove save - he celebrated like Patrick Roy waiving at Roenick (Big note to the Defence -
Saturday - Whitby Wildcats 0 Waterloo Wolves 2 For about the tenth game in a row the Wolves jumped out to the lead, and surprisingly held it throughout the game! Some may say it was the fact we were physically bigger, some may say it was because the boys were hungry, but most will say its cause the trap has disappeared (...everybody cheer...now back to the story). This game seemed to have two questions, how many goals would we score, and will Jesse stay awake long enough to get his shutout. Mac scored his third goal in the past week on a big wrap around move that caught their goalie off the post. Then we had to wait until the third period for Sean to blast one in from the slot to finish up the scoring, despite the fact we poured a gazillion shots towards their net. The defence looked a little bored at times as the forwards were flying around the Whitby zone hemming them in. The odd time the D got to pinch and throw the puck in but for the most part this game was in the hands of the forwards. Not sure how many shots we had on net, but 80% of the play had to be in their zone. Roger's official shot counter gave them 8 shots on Jesse - maybe 3 were off the ice. The big statistic - they didn't get any scoring chances - great team defense.The only scare to the shutout occurred in the final minutes when Whitby had a two man advantage for over 30 seconds. Dom, Luke and Sean took care of that situation very easily with great hustle. Jason, aka "SteamRoller" was the receipient of the 'Player of the Game' t-shirt and the coaches named #10 our Wolf of the Week.  Tournament Photos are on their own page
Waterloo 1 Stratford 4 This game had some interesting trends throughout the game. For the first five minutes the puck never left our zone. Then we got a decent shot on goal, followed by another decent scoring chance courtesy of Luke sacrificing his body and the Wolves found themselves up 1-0. Familiar territory these days for a team that has put together a modest 3 game winning streak. And one might want to point out that was courtesy of a delayed penalty and that the Wolves went through the first period without a penalty (or official stats keeper, or a few other cheerleaders - but I digress). By the start of the second the fans were all in their seats (yeah I know, digressing again), stats were being taken and the Wolves continued to battle toe to toe with Stratford (anyone else miss the opening "Waaaarrrrrrriiooorrrrrrrrrsss"? ...sorry...). Stratford tied the game up and then took the lead on a pretty decent blast for a pee wee hockey player. Poor Dom had the best scoring chance when all he wanted was some smelling salts. After getting rocked in the defensive zone he somehow managed to find his way down the ice. Luckily for Stratford he wasn't 100% because he picked up a loose puck in the slot that would be buried into the twine 97 times out of 100. Poor guy! But there was a glimmer of a TSN turning point at the end of the period as Stratford picked up their second penalty within 30 seconds. So at the strart of the third, Stratford held a 2-1 lead and had 2 in the box. Credit to their defence that pressured well and prevented us from getting a scoring chance. Then about 2 minutes later they scored a powerplay goal and the Wolves lost any momentum that was building. The third was marred with Stratford picking up a couple of intentional penalties and more total penalties than we did (unofficially - Coach will straighten me out if I'm wrong). tidbits ...quietest Stratford crowd I have ever heard...thanks to Duane for his "Umpies"- at least some of the atmosphere was normal ... Jesse dozed off on the bench unable to see the game from his cheap seat ... Jordan took one on the chin and wisely didn't retaliate (I think the Chinese judge gave him an 5.6 on artistic impression for the dive) ... Once Duane fixes Bruno's computer, we can get Doc to mail in the first period stats from the video... Mac's scoring streak ended ... inside dressing room joke - all the boys want for Christmas is a chin up bar ...Best joke of the week - the announcement that Friday's catered lunch will be charged back, "My name is Fred not _ _ _ !" (Happy Lee ...rogl) Waterloo 2 Woodstock 0 Maybe it was Colin's first shift when he steam rolled (aka levelled) two different Vets within 20 seconds of each other that set the tone. Or maybe it was simply the confidence the team has slowly developed over the past week that did it. Regardless, Nolan's deflected shot from the point was all the offence we needed in this game as the boys (with apologies to Jessica) played great. Not sure why, but the Woodstock goalie had more trouble handling the puck than Anna Nicole Smith has walking and chewing gum (yeah I was watching the American Music Awards last night). Luke had a 90 foot scoring chance that rolled up her stick and almost dropped in behind. Compare that to Steve who played his third solid game in a row anchoring the Wolves defence. In the second period Mack provided the insurance goal (his second of the weekend) on a powerplay. If his scoring in hockey is like his soccer scoring, keep feeding the big guy in front of the net! Again we seemed to have a bit of a parade to the penalty box, including giving them a 2 man advantage for over a minute. Dom and Sean did a great job up front killing penalties. One play that defined this game was the Big Mac Attack in the third period. Two of the bigger Vets went behind their net and took runs at Mac only to find themselves on the ice within a second of each other (Boy it was great to see the big guys banging today). Sure hope that play makes the end of year highlight film (nudge, nudge). Luke dished out a real nice hit in the third and poor Jason was the victim of being a biggun' as he watched most of the third from the sidelines for a head shot to a much shorter player (Coach Dan I'm sure has done the same a time or two). tidbits...pictures will be returning - today was hectic in the Bean household and things were forgotten... JP was back to coach Steve ... Coach Terry was back and did not catch a puck - coulda, shoulda ... Hendie had a great game up front and then got thrown back on "D"- wanna try the pads next?...Brian R blocked a shot with his ribs so no telling jokes to him for a while (it hurts when you laugh) ... Stratford is up next Waterloo 3 Cambridge 2 Last time we played in Cambridge there were 24 minutes in penalties, this time it was a paltry 16 - with equal distribution. Luke started the scoring in the second on our patented Colin to winger scoring play. While the goalie got a good piece of it, the puck ended up in the net. And then came the infamous penalty shot. The Wolves got caught on the blueline and Cambridge snuck a player behind the 'D' and got a breakaway. Brian R. made a great play hustling back and then dove to stick check the puck. Only Bruno knows for sure, but it looked real close that he hit the puck - and saying that negates all penalty shot criteria . While the point is moot (no thats not a swear word!), the Hawk made the perfect play on Steve by coming in on a slight angle and cutting across which forced Steve to open the five hole. We won't mention the refs next three mistakes (icing on a pp was one goodie), but suffice it to say they needed a timeout to gather their composure. The Hawks finished off the period by taking the lead on a pretty goal (aka a flying Bobby Orr goal). And then the two teams started to get nasty. Of course the nastiest play was Jessica's rush. While she had a step on the defenceman, he hooked/interfered with her all the way to the corner and then either cross checked or hit her from behind into the boards. I personally will never forget the way she tried to get up immediately (like she always does) and couldn't. We all know she never stays down and when she did it was a bad omen. Doc's dressingroom assessment had a broken radius (the skinny bone in the forearm). Several minutes later the Hawks took a bad penalty and the PP managed to generate the tying goal within seconds. It was a carbon copy of Luke's- high shot, goalie had his glove on a lot of it and the puck ended up in the net. Then in the final two minutes another Waterloo powerplay and another Waterloo goal. Again off the face-off, Mack positioned himself in front of the net (a la Esposito - since we are using legends from the 70's today) and calmly slapped the loose puck into the back of the net. tidbits...Luke had 10 shots in the game by himself ... and on behalf of the team I'd like to say it is really nice to have Doc at our games and that he jumps in everytime we need him - heck he even helped us out last year in Woodstock when Hendie broke his wrist and John had an MD game... your services are noted and greatly appreciated ... Coach Fred almost ate a shot from Nolan and then almost fell off the bench laughing whenNolan pleaded his case - have a good idea what #22 said ..."Coach Terry would have caught it"... Second game in a row we had Jutz backup Steve Waterloo 1 Stratford 1 missed this game...the following are comments from those that did attend but wish to remain anonymous...lol Round 1 of this great rivalry was a confidence boosting 1-1 tie. Apparently the story of this game is that all started in the dressing room before the game. Gordie kicked the coaches out and set the tone for the game with his pre-game sermon. They scored a beauty on a four on four scenario but the Wolves came back before the end of the first. Sean picked up an early Christmas present when he found a juicy rebound sitting on his stick and an empty net to bury it into. Stratford almost 'scored' two other goals, one after the buzzer in the second, and they tried to push Steve into the net at the end of the third - neither counted. Dom had our best chance for the lead only to have their goalie make the save of the game (from their side of the ice). Stratford had a significant powerplay advantage but our 'D' did not give up a goal. Kitchener 3 Waterloo 2 The trend continues, we still have only played one full period of hockey this year with a full bench (1st game in Whitby Tourney). John is still nursing his fracture and Jess was trying to bring home the gold over at RIM leaving the bench a little light. It didn't help that Kitchener came out flying and with their speed hemmed us in our zone for most of the first period. They jumped up 1-0 early in the first and then added a powerplay goal through JP's five hole as he tried the poke check.
Waterloo 4 Brantford 2 Missed this game and Jesse could only tell me that Ben, Luke and Mac scored and that Steve made another highlight film save when he stacked his pads... any other frustrated Karlo's out there that want to do the write up? With or without byline?
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