Novice 3:
This past Sunday the Novice 3 hockey team renewed hostilities with a familiar foe, the Victoria Racquet Club Kings.
The Thunderbirds welcomed a familiar face to the lineup, Beau Hicks. Hicks had been out of the lineup since September and despite the doctor’s prognosis of missing the entire season, Hicks persevered through a grueling rehabilitation program in order to suit up for the Thunderbirds and provided much needed speed to the lineup.
The Thunderbirds came out flying from the first shift as the forward line of Ireland Greenhough, Chris Piatkowski and Jayme Vivian hemmed the Kings in their own zone and produced multiple scoring chances. This dominance continued throughout the first period and at the 10-minute mark the Thunderbirds were rewarded when Ben Ackinclose scored low on the glove side to give Sooke a 1-0 lead.
The second period started exactly as the first except Ireland Greenhough scored with a laser- like shot to the stick side. The Kings countered with a goal in the middle of the second period, but Greenhough reversed the momentum with her second goal of the game in the final minute of the second period to make the score 3-1. The Thunderbirds’ tenancious forechecking was complemented by the outstanding defensive play of Kobe Knowles, Grant Gilbertson and Justin Parker in support of goaltender, Matthew Ryan. Ryan was not as busy as his Victoria counterpart, but made some huge saves when his team needed them.
After Victoria edged closer with a goal in the third, Greenhough once again provided Sooke with another two goal margin. The hat-trick was Greenhough’s second of the season and prompted hats to rain down from the SEAPARC stands. Despite the second two goal deficit of the game, the Kings were not deterred and managed to sneak two goals past Ryan to make the final 4-4.
The game provided the fans with great passing, fantastic skating and exceptional defensive play. The coaches were very pleased with the team’s effort and all agreed this was Tyler Fogarty’s best effort of the year. Fogarty was a threat in the offensive zone, a towering presence on defense and stopped various odd man rushes with a keen sense of timing, strength and athleticism. This exciting team will once again spend this week preparing for another date with the Kings next Sunday.
Kevin Ryan