The Novice AE Junior Bulls have been steadily
improving over the past few weeks. From goalies to the defence to the
forwards and centres, every player on the team has put a solid effort on the
ice, whether it be for practices or games. Despite this, it took just as
long for them to record a victory during this time. When it came,
victory tasted pretty sweet and no team was more deserving.
This past weekend, the Novice team travelled to Barrie for a tournament. Parents and coaches were unanimous in their belief that this tournament saw this team play their best hockey of the year. After a long drive, we played the host Barrie team and skated to a 2-2 draw. Later that evening against a gritty Flamborough team, Belleville fought against poor referees calls and lost a heart breaker in the final minutes 4-3. The team played their best period of hockey Saturday morning but followed it with a poor second period against a top league rival Whitby that cost Belleville the game. Later that day, skating against Markham, Belleville had to dig deep into their reserves but fell short again, 6-5 against the eventual champions of the tourney. Coaches were super encouraged by the effort and it was obvious that the players hard work and attention in practice was paying off on the ice during games. To go away and skate to such competitive finishes is a complement to everybody involved.
On Tuesday night, Belleville played a tough Quinte West team in Quinte West. The Novice AE’s came to play, starting with another great first period, going up 1-0 on a goal by Isaiah More, assisted by Brett Keene. Solid defensive play and hard back checking kept the ‘Hawks’ off the scoreboard. In the second, Quinte West bounced back strong and despite many great saves by Callum Decker, the home team got two by him to take the lead. Belleville dug their heels in, however, and pushed back with many opportunities and finally Connor Kerik popped one in, assisted by Noah Roy with 32 seconds left in the period. Heading into the third, Belleville had steady nerves and there was a belief in the air that this was a game that they would not let slip away like those that had slipped away in the Barrie tournament. Fans from both teams were treated to a great period of hockey to finish a great and competitive game. Halfway through, Isaiah More popped his second goal, assisted by Noah Roy and Conner Kerik. Quinte West tried their best with the remaining time but good saves and stingy defence prevailed and Belleville won the game.
Tyler Pierce was outstanding on the blue line and deserved player of the game honours but special mention has to be given to Noah Roy who showed up every shift and skated hard at both ends of the ice. Congratulations to the Novice AE Bulls. Keep working hard every time you come to the rink. Your efforts are paying off in a huge way with great and competitive games. Win or lose, those type of games are the ones that you want to be a part of.