Wild Show a Ton of Grit in 2 Heartbreaking Losses to Start the Playoffs., News, Tyke LL, U8, 2017-2018 (Brock Minor Hockey Association)

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Mar 07, 2018 | Dave Parry | 985 views
Wild Show a Ton of Grit in 2 Heartbreaking Losses to Start the Playoffs.
The Brock Wild opened their post-season with 2 tough games against the Durham Crusaders and the Millbrook Stars over the weekend.

The team battled hard in both games but came up just short with 2 heartbreaking losses.


On Saturday the Wild were home against our nemesis the Durham Crusaders.

The 1st period was back and forth as both teams generated some nice scoring chances. 

The Wild would get on the board 1st.  After a flurry of activity in the Crusaders zone, the puck would find its way to Slama who would slam it into the back of the net to give the Wild a 1-0 lead with 4 minutes left in the period.

The Crusaders had a lot of chances up to that point but Parry was in the zone making several nice stops.

Durham would get the equalizer however late in the period as their star #8 would get loose and fire a blast into the top of the net to tie the game at 1-1 heading into the 2nd period.

The goalies would take over the 2nd period as both teams exchanged scoring chances but just could could not get any to go in.

Parry made a highlight reel save on Durham’s number 8 midway through the period stopping him on a breakaway after what looked to be a for sure goal was robbed with some beauty stick work at the goal line to keep the game knotted at 1-1.

The game would stay tight with several chances into the 3rd but both goalies stayed sharp.

Then with just minutes remaining tragedy would strike the Wild as they tried to clear the puck from in front on a defensive zone faceoff. 

The Wild would get the puck onto our stick but in an attempt to put the puck out of harms way and behind the net the puck would end up going off our stick and past Parry into the net to give the Crusaders a 2-1 lead. A truly unfortunate mishap but something that could easily happen to anyone.

The Wild would battle hard to get it back but just get not get put one in as the game would end in a heart-breaking 2-1 loss.

The Wild truly deserved a win in this one but came up just one unlucky bounce away.

The next day the Wild would travel to Millbrook for a battle against the Stars. This one was a tight-checking affair with both teams playing strong defensively and keeping the number of scoring opportunities low.

Both teams would get a few chances but both goalies were solid when needed and made some nice saves.

Through 3 periods of play the score would remain tied at 0-0. Both teams were celebrating what was thought to be a tie when it was determined that the playoff format required both teams to play a 10 minute overtime period.

Unfortunately for the Wild, Millbrook would get the goal just over 3 minutes in as the Wild would suffer their 2nd close loss in as many days.

The loss was especially touch for our goalie Blake Brock who had a shut-out after regulation and was looking to record his first shut-out of the season after making some nice saves to keep the shut-out bid alive.

It was later confirmed that the Tyke contract does indeed call for a 10 minute overtime period to be played in the event of a tie and only if the score is still tied do both teams register a tie and the point.

As a double whammy, no points are awarded to teams losing in the overtime frame.

Despite the 2 losses, the Wild should be very proud of how well they played. We showed a lot of hussle, tons of grit and battled hard at both ends of the rink.

Our goalies Brock and Parry continue to show that they are indeed 2 of the very best goalies in the league making some amazing saves. Both goalies have come a long way since the beginning of the season.

Our defense of Kirkos, Davidson, Cresanto and Lynch were rock solid in both games as they shut down their teams best players and did a good job clearing the zone.

All 3 forward lines contributed with a nice goal by Slama and some nice rushes by Smith, Malcolm, Pearce and Stewart.

Payne, Benge and Giles played their best hockey we have seen from them all year as they battled hard along the boards and did a great job of breaking up plays and sending the puck into the offensive zone.

Overall a great effort by all in 2 very close games that could have easily been won by us with just 1 of those bounces going our way.

Next up is the Millbrook Stars White squad on Thursday night followed by our Tournament at Niagara this weekend.

Let’s go Wild! We are getting so very close to putting the wins on the board. Keep up the great effort.

Speaking on behalf of the coaching staff, we could not be any prouder of you!


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