Two more round-robin games on Day 2 . . .
Game 3 – Mississauga Mission Rattlers
Remember when I said Mission Black Ice is the best 16-and-under team I’ve ever seen? I may have spoken too soon on that.
I’ll be shocked if the Rattlers and Black Ice don’t face each other in the final to find out which team is really the best in the universe.
The Devil Dog goalie was great yesterday but not today. He gave up eight goals, should have stopped about five of them, but didn’t get much help from his teammates either.
Final Score: Rattlers 8, Devil Dogs 0. Ouch.
Game 4 – Colorado Dynamite
Both teams came into the game with a good chance of slipping in to the playoff round as the fifth and final seed with a victory.
It was a very even game — too even. The game ended in a tie, which eliminated both teams from the tournament.
Final Score: Devil Dogs 3, Dynamite 3
Day 2 Wrapup
I thought the boys did great for their first time playing Platinum at the NARCh level.
They’re not ready to win it yet but they I think they showed that they belong, and they got a chance to see what it takes to be the best in the land at their sport.
As a team, there are things that they need to improve on and individually, they need to get stronger and faster.
There are two teams — Black Ice and Mississauga Rattlers — that look clearly better than any other team in the 16-and-under age group. Unfortunately, the luck of the draw had the Devil Dogs playing both of them in round-robin games.
Except for those two teams, it looked like the Dogs could compete with anyone. They were one goal away from making the playoff round, had they been able to win one of the two games they tied.
I really enjoyed watching the kids play this season.
Casey’s been teammates with most of these kids for three years now. They’ve improved as players from A to AA and now AAA.
A couple of kids who as recently as last year were the poster boys for not having your head in the game — on or off the rink — have actually developed some leadership qualities, so they’ve improved at things other than hockey as well.
That’s it. See you next season . . .