Meahwhile, the Boy’s team is on an enigmatic carnival ride of its own. Dating back to a 6-2 loss little over a week ago against a team they certainly should be beating. In their defence they were coming off a one-week layoff. The squad appears to have developed a somewhat troubling rhythm of late which sounds eerily like good games/bad games/good games/bad games. I sympathize with the Boy’s coach who must be roundly befuddled at the Jeckyll and Hyde bunch he watches take to the ice from one game to the next. There has been some paint peeling from what we’ve heard; with good reason in my humble opinion. Generally speaking I think a team of under-performing 16 and 17 year old boys can benefit and perhaps will respond positively to a strongly delivered wake up call.
They followed up their 6-2 loss with a 10-2 victory, albeit against the 10th place team in their 12-team league. That game was, in turn, followed by what was described as an inspiring effort on the right side of a 6-2 score against a team ahead of them in the standings. After a somewhat slow start the Colts need to put together a winning streak in order to avoid entering the playoffs as a constant visitor against teams above them in the standings. Another line of thought is for them to finish low and catch the others off guard when the games really matter. But I’m sure we’d all like to see a little more consistency before that time comes.
After a scheduling SNAFU, which saw them miss and forfeit the first game of a nearby tourney on the weekend, the Boys turned in what I am told was one of their most lackluster performances of the year, falling 3-2 to a presumably mismatched opponent who only iced nine of the standard 15 players. The Boys took the game for granted, letting it slip away in the third period. In their third and final tournament game, which unfortunately was moot from an advancement perspective based on two previous losses, Team Hyde showed up to dominate in a 3-0 victory.
To round out the week, they would meet their 10-2 victims again, but this time the Jekylls surfaced to squander an obvious opportunity to win with an underwhelming 2-2 tie. Lots of shots in the other goalie’s chest; plenty of passes poorly delivered and received.
In looking at the rest of the regular season schedule, it would appear to favour more wins than losses against “weaker” opponents, but they must play the games for a reason; particularly with this lot, who are making every contest interesting.
Mom and the Boy are also off on a trip to the Near North for a tourney the weekend after next with an opportunity for the lads to gain a berth in the annual International Silver Stick competition. Here’s hoping they correct their tune in time to play a few of those “good games” in a row to secure their spot and some momentum for the home stretch.
#imahockeydad