SPORTSHOUND: Unsung Heroes

Tales From the Timebox: December 14th, 2021

U11 Avalanche

There is unsung heroes on every hockey team, you know the kid… Hardworker, great attitude and they never seem to get enough credit. These are the guys who work in the trenches digging the puck out of the corners or along the boards. Players who protect their goalies by blocking shots. Players who fore-checking and back check and not just float around. They are the players who rarely get on the game sheet with goals and assists, but deserve credit all the same. Some teams refer to them as the grunts. The U 11 team created an award for them called The Machine of the Game and they have just recently made a hockey sweater with that slogan on the back that they award to a player after each game.

The U11 travelled north to Cold Lake on Saturday playing to a four all tie. The Avalanche coming back to tie the game in the third period after being down by two goals. A Texas hat trick for William ‘Billy Bob’ Ballas who scored all four of the Avalanche goals. They call it a Texas hat trick because everything is bigger in Texas! Riding shotgun, his linemate, Theo ‘Long Horn’ Loughran Quinney with two assists. Hudson ‘the Bull’ Brousseau and Liam ‘Dobbie’ Dumont both pulling their weight with the other assists. The U11 team coaching staff awarding the Machine of the Game sweater to the little defenseman Lennox ‘All Out’ St. Arnault who gives it 100 percent every minute he’s on ice.

On Sunday the U 11 travelled south to Paradise Valley losing this one 7 to 5. Billy Bob with two goals and two assists. Long Horn with two goals and one assist. Jaxon ‘Magic’ Marcoux with a goal. Hudson ‘the Hammer’ Krankowski with an assist. The highly spirted Ava ‘the Red Baron‘ Rawlake was named the Machine of the Game getting the honor of wearing the special sweater.

 

 

U15 Avalanche

All systems go for the U15 who won two games on the weekend quite easily. Both of the games were very rough and penalty filled. Travelling to Irma Friday night, the boys came back home with a 5 to 1 win. But, on the down side of things, three more injured players from that game. Added to the two already out of the line-up that makes it a total of five players out with injuries. Some of them for a long term. Gavin ‘Green Light’ Kadutski scoring a duce. Both of his goals assisted by the set- up man team captain Kaleb ‘Formula One’ Flamand and ‘Top Gunner’ Crawford. Top Gunner sniping one top corner assisted by the talented rushing defenseman Quinton ‘Rampage’ Quinney-Dumont. Tray ‘Scooby Doo’, Thomas-Calliou with one assisted by F1 and ‘Bo Diddley’ Fontaine.

 

On Sunday at home the U15 outshot Onion Lake 76 to 1 and outscored them 6 to 1. A terrific game for Top Gunner who fired four goals into the twine and assisted on one. Scooby Doo and the team Captain F1 with one goal each. Evett’ Snoop Dog’ Smerka, Clayton ‘ Cha Ching’ Toews, Cole ‘ Cyclone ‘ Pierce and ‘ Rampage’ with the apples.

 

U13 Avalanche

The U13 team played in Chauvin on Saturday winning 5 to 1. Brendan ‘Buzz Saw’ Kadutski with two goals. Kale ‘the Hawk’ Ockerman with a goal and an assist. Jaxon ‘Smitty’ Smith and Remington ‘Steel’ Reynolds with one goal each. ‘Wild Wyatt’ Fontaine with two assists. Liam ‘Sledgehammer’ Swedgen and Tristan ‘Bobcat’ Brousseau each adding an assist.

The last time these two teams played each other down in Irma the game ended in a 6 all tie. On this past Sunday in our own barn, it was a whole different story. The U13 buried the Irma Aces deep under with a 15 to 2 win. Wild Wyatt with a hat trick and three assists. Smitty with a hat trick. Remington Steel with two goals and three assists. Buzz Saw with two goals and an assist. The Hawk with two goals and an assist. ‘Boe Dog’ St. George with a wicked blast from the point for a goal. Grinder Boe Dog also adding an assist. Jackson ‘J.R.’ Rawlake with a nice little tap in for a goal. ‘Without a Trace’ Morgan with a couple of assists. Unsung hero Tristan ‘Bobcat’ Brousseau doing some fantastic fore-checking and back checking.

Another unsung hero, defense-woman Kestyn ‘Crocodile’ Quinney helping her goalie by blocking shots and clearing the puck out of the zone. Owen’ Ollie the Goalie ‘ Grykuliak wasn’t very busy, but made an outstanding toe save early in the game when it was still within reach to keep the momentum going the Avalanche way.