Tales from the Timebox: Friday Night Special
U11 Avalanche vs St. Paul Canadiens
Billed as the game of the week, the anticipation was building all day. This past Friday night, the U11 Avalanche hosted St. Paul in a rematch from the week before, where the Avs had won in St Paul by two goals, setting the stage for Friday night that turned into another nailbiter.
The Canadiens struck first, taking a one-goal lead early in the first period, but, the Avalanche stormed back to tie it up on a sweet top shelf goal by Aspyn ‘Machine Gun Kelly’, assisted by Stetson ‘Shack’ Reynolds and ‘Jumbo Jay’ Large. Then Machine Gun Kelly would set up Jace ‘the Jackal’ Malo, who also picked a corner and gave the Avalanche the one-goal lead. Soon after, the Jackal would go end-to-end through the whole Canadiens’ team, scoring another three goals. Five to one at this point for the Avalanche when the teams headed to the dressing room after the second period. The Canadiens coaching staff decided to tag team the Jackal to shut him down in the third period, and then they opened up the throttle on their offensive attack and started scoring—one goal, then two, then three unanswered goals for the Canadiens. Only a one-goal game lead for the Avalanche halfway through the third period. That’s when the Avalanche goalie ‘General Lee’ Barstad stole the show, coming up with huge saves in the final minutes, and a couple of them were on breakaways, but he didn’t flinch.
The Avalanche went on to win 5-4. The General had a fantastic game, but not without some help on the blue line, mind you. Mikey ‘the Beast’ L’Heureux was backchecking like crazy and blocking several shots before they reached the General. And by the big tandem D-Men Thomas ‘the Tank’ Morris and Benny Boy Saddleback, who stood them up on the blue line. Defense-woman Charlie ‘Chickadee’ Davis was also a good part of it, pinching and holding the line in the offensive end. Grayson ‘Big Bang’ Koppang, Jaydn ‘the Shark’ Sakowsky, and the birthday boy ‘Dax My Boy’ Bowman are finely forechecking turning over pucks.
Our coaching staff, head coach Matt Kelly, and his assistants Arden Barstad and Darren Koppang did an excellent job. And a big hand to referee Aaron Aarbo, who decided to take the referee clinic and give back to the youngsters, mentoring his partner, young referee Theo Loughran-Quinney.
U9 Avalanche vs. Vermilion Tigers
On Saturday morning, the U9 Avalanche hosted the Vermilion Tigers. Tytus ‘Titan’ Gadwa, behind the mask with the big pads, was busy facing a flurry of pucks. Taber ‘the Tiger’ Gadwa with a couple of goals. Maximus ‘To the Max’ Laliberte with at least three or four goals. ‘Awesome Lawson’ Moneta with his first goal of the year and some helpers. Landon ‘Lights Out’ St. Arnault was going coast to coast, scoring a few points, too. ‘Bye Bye Birdi’ Bowman and Jacob ‘the Snake’ Botstein with a couple of helpers each. Brand new to hockey this year, Blake Fontaine, Mason ‘Mini-wheels’ Weir, and Damian Ockerman contribute with assists.
U15 Avalanche vs. Cold Lake Ice
On the road Friday night, the league-leading tier three north U15 Avalanche picked up another two points in an 8-7 win over Cold Lake—’Wild Wyatt’ Fontaine with two goals. ‘Boe Dog’ St. George and ‘Without a Trace’ Morgan with a goal and two assists each. Braylee ‘Free Willy’ Lesyk with a goal and an assist. Anton Braithwaite, Brendan ‘Buzz Saw’ Kadutski, and Jaxon ‘Smitty’ Smith, each with an apple.
U7 Avalanche vs. Vermilion Tigers
Down in Vermilion early Sunday morning, the U7s played with only eight skaters making the trip. Aksel ‘ Lightning’ Aarbo and ‘Hard Knox’ Mudryk lighting up the lamp with many goals each. Rosaleigh ‘Rosie’ Nepoose-Gadwa with a goal. Cayson ‘Mighty Casey’ Younghans was doing some hard corner work. Towering William ‘Tell All’ Farrel stood tall between the pipes and shut down almost every shot on the net.
U13 Avalanche vs. Thorhild Titans
On Grey Cup Sunday, the U13 travelled to Thorhild to take on the Titans, winning by a field goal and a two-point convert. Twelve to seven, the final. It was a terrific team effort, with everyone on the team having either an assist or a goal. Team captain William ‘Billy Bob’ Ballas led the way with five goals— ‘Jesse James’ Penner with a hat trick and an assist. Brody, ‘the Thrasher’ Trach, had two goals and two assists. Lennox ‘All-Out’ St. Arnault with three assists. Ryder ‘Rhino’ Malo and ‘Fearless Frank’ Killam with a goal and an assist each. Two assists for Hunter ‘ Hard Rock’ Pankiw: Delaney ‘Downtown’ Swedgen and Ethan ‘The Big E’ Lorenson, each with an assist. And in the cage, Major Tom Melnyk did a fantastic job, facing 39 shots for the win. The backup for the game, Theo ‘Long Horn’ Loughran Quinney, is ready to relieve him if necessary.
Coming Up at the A.G. Ross Arena
This coming weekend, the U15s will be hosting their home tournament. Come down to the rink and cheer them on!
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