The Peewee Clippers finished up the regular 30 game season on January 17th, landing a 50 point season, with 25 wins and 5 losses, placing second overall. The season brought many highlights centred on building a team and building character on the ice and off the ice. Showing strengths in our season was an outcome of investing beyond the W:L ratio - the coaches always expanded the learning opportunities from game play to the bigger project: developing character through our sport. The team experiences included kick starting with 3 days of away camp, challenging tournaments, and various team events.
This year, the boys once again enjoyed the great opportunity to experience NCAA hockey at Clarkson University, this time including campus tour, exhibition play, as well as a team dinner at Cheel arena.
The Golden Knights hosted play to Yale university on Friday, Jan 22. The game was fast paced and kept everyone on the edge of their seats, including 5 minutes of overtime in an attempt to break the 2-2 tie. The Knights took one point in the final tally, sending the Clippers back to their hotel excited by the heated play, and raucous parry of the Golden Knights home band. The Yale goalie took a lot of punishment as the Band assailed him with semi-musical, verbal assaults. But he held fast, even when Scott Burrows started calling our "Red Rover Red Rover, we call the back-up goalie over" to the great amazement and glee of the Band. The final score remained 2-2.
We managed to get up and going in time for the 9am Cheel Arena tour on Saturday, January 23rd. The boys soaked in the history and high respect for the caliber of the Golden Knight team, and witnessed first hand the pre-game workout room, the locker rooms, and listened intently to our host, Shawn, describe the hockey, the team and the commitment it takes to be a Golden Knight. Shawn (formerly ECAC champion as a Golden Knight, and now Director of Cheel) balanced this deliberately with an equal focus on academics, and student recruitment , describing the criteria for of character and capabilities to achieve as a student, as well as a hockey player. The day continued with a tour of campus facilities, showing the athletics centre, as well as some of the engineering labs. With no time for rest, the schedule brought the boys and tag-along parents and sibs to Cheel arena to wrap up and hear from the assistant head coach, and three of the Golden Knights, including Stouffville's Golden boys, Christian Powers (former Spirit), and Paul Geiger (Knights captain, and former Spirit). The messages were clear - hard work, character, respect, striving to be the best you can be, giving 100% for the team, balancing hockey with student-life, time management, commitment... oh, and the word "fun" did manage to come up a few times too. The Clippers were riveted and for many, they had their fist taste of ambition... completely undaunted by the USD $60K per year tuition. Parents were equally impressed with the overall experience.
Breaking for lunch after a busy morning, the boys then had just enough time to get back to the arena for their exhibition match with the Massina Thunder set for puck drop at 2:30pm. The boys enjoyed the special privilege of using the women's hockey team's locker. Sparing the full details, let's say the Clippers did not have much in the tank to shine in the match after such a busy schedule. But they worked hard, put up the first 2 goals, then fell behind finally losing 6-2. It didn't matter too much, as the kids were more enthralled with the full experience playing at Cheel arena, and enjoying shoot-out at the conclusion of the game.
The team enjoyed a team dinner right on site, and continued on to the Knights back to back match up, this time with Brown University. This time the Knights trounced the competition, 5-0 bumping up their standings as the playoffs approach. The perfect ending to the day.
Hats off to Coach Geiger for arranging the exhibition match, and the tour. This was a special two days, that stretched our boys beyond hockey, yet enriched their hockey sense , and appreciation for what it really takes to be a team. Much of what our kids get out of hockey is about life lessons. This weekend they will come home with so much more than hockey stories - and the stories will last a lifetime.
See our pics to have a taste of Potsdam - Clarkson University - and our Golden Tour of Duty. Click links.
Clarkson Visit
Clarkson - Clippers vs Thunder