Better late than never.
The Inaugural Hume Shield SAINTS V CANBERRA saw the SAINTS the winners in a close one.
Bantams won 4-2 after a closely contested game. The Newly formed Bantams, with only one player Martin Valdivia ( our Captain ) a previous seasoned Bantam & with Casey & new recruit Courtney, regularly playing up in this division & Cody & Damien, playing a handful of Bantam contact games between them. Whereas maybe 3 or 4 were either previous Peewee players only, of one or two seasons & the rest never ever experiencing Ice Hockey let alone Bantams. Canberra started peppering us from the word go & Edgo got a quick hurry up & had to perform his magic from the start & continue all game. Our first goal came from a mighty save by Edgo then passed to our backs to put the puck in motion at the right end of the ice. I lost count but I think the puck went via 5 or 6 of our players before Casey & Martin combined for the goal & assist. Next saw girl power Emma, Courtney & Melissa have a go & show ‘em they aren’t just silly girls & can put it together when needed & got a hand in starting our second goal which was scored by Dieter a nice first of hopefully many for the year. Some of our other new recruits got involved with Greg & Christian having a go & saving Edgo the job of scavenging for the puck around the goal. Josh showed some zest winning the puck saving a goal but earning him a penalty for his efforts (well done shows he was trying). Canberra came back with 2 quick goals before our fearless leader Martin; put one in the net that the goalie & most spectators didn’t even see. Then in typical Casey style, we watched him bewilder the opposition, running circles around them, off an intercepted pass from Dominic slipping it to Jonathon then to Casey before trademark top right saw the final goal just before full time.
Next saw the TOUGH TEENAGERS our MIDGETS hit the ice with BIG HITS a plenty coming from the lads in a no holds barred contest. A totally different pace as FULL CONTACT hits the ice drawing ooows & aahs from the crowd all game. Marco had his hands full all game as slap shots came from everywhere. Our defence was put to the test time & time again, saving & then pushing it to our forwards with the penalty box being visited by both teams all game. Tyler started an attack with an intercept, before he slipped it to Ado who got it to Dane to score. Jordan & Alex were busy all game in defence trying to stop the constant Canberra barrage. Corey & Ben cop’t it , as they were both on the receiving end of some big hits, rattling the cages on their helmets. Damien & Jarrod were involved with the final goal which saw Steve get the final assist to Chris to score a trademark goal to level it at 2 all. The boys didn’t give up & were unlucky not to score in the final minutes as we kept them busy in their zone but couldn’t convert the pressure to a goal. This pressure from both sides saw the ice threaten to crack as bodies exploded into one another all game, making for a great spectacle to watch. The crowd now at 214 was all cheering their teams on. Unfortunately a result of one such hit saw Dane sidelined with a corked thigh as he hit the ice , with a thump, threatening to break the concrete beneath. Shots were hard & fast from both sides but Goals were few & far between with the score being locked up at 2 all.
The Titans were next to challenge the Australian Capital Territorians, without their playing coach & a couple of other regulars. Nonetheless, this newly formed side of locals & imports saw a tough game from the face off with a few of the new boys still having trouble getting used to the rules. Tyler & I had a few chats in the penalty box. But no Joe in the box, what happened here ? A new leaf I hear a the proof was there to be seen for this game anyway. The titans led by Andy, were up against it, as the Canberra guys, had a polished, experienced team, which had been together for some time & it showed, as wave after wave of rehearsed, team manoeuvres, came off punishing our defence & keeping Matt stretching, splitting & diving for many pucks to save goal after goal. The score was 1 all for a while, with Canberra nailing the final one bouncing in off the post. Titans rolled up their sleeves & went in to battle for the final period with neither side gaining or losing ground. Jeff, Brownie, Lucas, Joe & Brian, held the puck in their possession in the final stages & looked like scoring but couldn’t convert. A last ditch attempt by the Titans against the tourists saw them unlucky not to sneak one in, but it wasn’t to be. Most spectators & players went over to the BBQ & Presentation with the promise of more clashes in the future.
Let the records show that The Inaugural Hume Shield was won by SAINTS. Looking forward to a rematch soon, hopefully with more of our teams involved.