Apr 03, 2012 | NathanT | 1630 views
Seeing Double? Novice Match up Against Novice in A Season Finale
Where does the time go? It wasn't long ago that our '03's all hit the ice for tryouts, and parents diligently carted the kids back and forth to the arena, not fully realizing the path they were setting out to new hockey highs for the 2011-2012 season.
Our Novices formed 2 outstanding teams, Scott Paisley leading 16 of our talented 2003's to represent Stouffville as our Novice AA crew, with assistance from Mike Espey, Mark Turney and Sean Musson, and Phil von Kaufmann assembling a first time crew of budding rep players to form the Novice AE squadron, assisted by Carlo Simone, David Arbuckle, John Kroupis and Sharon Taylor (ok maybe I didn't assist but I kept everyone informed!!!)
And so began the season - a season of tough battles, hard fought goals, lessons in commitment, teamwork, the thrills of winning, the importance of losing with grace, sportsmanship and the love of the game.
Proudly, both teams forged ahead, making great strides in development and bringing their personal best to the season. Our 2003's thrilled the town with both teams making it through to the YSL finals, and with our Novice AE team bringing home a YSL Champion Banner for 2011-2012. Well done, Clippers!
April 3rd, 2012 marks a day of closure for both these teams. We ended where we began, on Pad A at the Stouffville Arena. The coaches arranged for a friendly exhibition match for our Clippers to get on the ice together and show us what they've got. Every player on the ice lined up and played the game with tenacity. Our Novice AA's demonstrated clinical positioning and passing, something Sean said they worked and worked on all season. This ultimately gave them the advantage, along with a true sense of urgency in their play. But the Novice AE's were equal to the task play after play, giving their peers many obstacles along the way.
Gabriel went out hard and manufactured the first goal of the game, and Marcus and Gabe put it together for a second goal to end the first period up a point with a score of 2-1 in favour of the underdogs. It didn't take long for the Novice AA's #16 (Espey) to find his groove and tie the score at 9:01 of the second. Once he did, Espey proved to be a formidable force, putting up a total of 5 goals and earning 1 assist. #7 (Turney) also managed to put in 2 as did #6 (Hough). These goals were no easy task - the Novice AA's pelted shot after shot at our Monster, Nick in the Net, who faced over 60 shots during the game and made many impressive covers, glove snags and toe drags. The Novice AE's did get shots at the net, but were foiled by strong back checking and Musson's own impressive net-minding for his team. The score ran up to close at 9-2, but it wasn't about the score, it was about playing the game, and enjoying a hometown match-up to end off the season. Our kids will forever be the 2003`s of Stouffville Minor Hockey and many will play together for many years to come - it was great to see all of their effort and talent shine on the ice.
Somewhat sadly, the evening also brought on a sense of an ending. The players will hang up their Clipper jerseys now and return to regular kid status. Time for summer sports, bike riding, camps, shorts & tees and maybe even the occasional weekend with nothing to do! Oh there's still time for skating, 3 on 3 or 4 on 4 hockey, and don't forget try-outs at the end of the month (see WSMHA website home page for dates and times). But for now, it's a chance to celebrate all the 'wins' of the year, whatever those may be to each player and fan.
For me, the biggest win has been watching our Novice AE's, players, parents & families, have a truly fun season making memories and friends to last us through all the many hockey seasons ahead. We're one heck of a TEAM. Well done, my friends, and thank-you all for everything you have done to make this a rich year for our kids and our association.
Signing off!
Yours in hockey, Sharon