Without Olivia Schlosser's team spirit, the Falcons took on Midland #1 in their first game. The two hour drive to Midland did not slow this team down. The Falcons jumped out to an early lead with 5 goals in the first period. Goal scorers were Dale Leroux, Adam Knoll with 2, Nathan Oelschlagel and Keifer Teeple. With the rest of the game on non-stop time, the Falcons continued to pressure the Midland squad. Goals in the second period came from Christean VanDepoll and Adam Knoll to complete the hat trick. Midland answered back with 1 when a puck was flipped over Caden Prues' pad on an offensive rush. The third period was all Hanover, as the defensive unit of Nathan Oelschlagel, Dawson Gilkinson, Brody Weber and Luke Breen not only shut down the Midland offence, but started the offensive attacks. The Falcons added 3 more on goals from Adam Knoll with his fourth, Cam Rourke and Dale Leroux with his second. Final score was Hanover 11, Midland 1.
In game two, the Falcons took on Penetang in a much closer game. These two teams battled it out in the first period, but neither team was able to solve each other's goaltending. The battle continued in the second with the offensive line of Dale Leroux, Blake Walters and Keifer Teeple creating a number of great scoring opportunities. With two minutes left in the second, the Falcons solved the Penetang goaltending when Dale Leroux picked up the puck in the neutral zone, took it around a couple of defensemen and then made a pretty deke to the forehand to put Hanover up by 1. That lead didn't last long, as 45 seconds later a deflected Penetang wrist shot beat Caden Prues to the top corner on the blocker side. The second period ended tied at 1. Hanover was bound and determined to win this game. The third period started off with a bang as Dale Leroux broke loose again and beat the Penetang goalie for his second of the game. The Falcons continued to generate a number of scoring opportunities and with five minutes left in the third, Dale Leroux completed the hat trick on a shot low to the bottom corner. Penetang turned up the heat in the last half of the third period, but Dawson Gilkinson and Nathan Oelschlagel kept the puck away from the Hanover net, up the boards and into the neutral zone. With the Penetang goalie out of the net, the Falcon's Keifer Teeple secured the win with the empty netter. Final score was Hanover 4, Penetang 1.
In the mid-day skills competition, Hanover's Dale Leroux, Dawson Gilkinson, Keifer Teeple and Caden Prues showed their stuff. Dale Leroux beat out the other seven team's fastest skaters to earn the fastest skater award. Dale won it with a lap time of 22.1 seconds, even after letting up before the finish line, just like Usain Bolt in the 100 metre sprint at the Summer Olympics. Caden Prues then took the top goaltender award when he first stopped six of the other seven team's sharpest shooters in the shoot-out, which put him in a tie with Oro's goaltender. In the tie-breaker, Caden stopped the two shooters and then those same two shooters were both able to beat the Oro goaltender to give Caden the win.
In the Championship game, the Falcons took on a team from Barrie. Hanover was beginning to show signs of fatigue, but they were not going to let that prevent them from earning a Championship victory. Barrie came out of the gates quickly generating the first scoring chance with a break-away, but Caden Prues made a big save and in doing so set the tone for the rest of the game. Hanover opened the scoring in the first on another pretty deke by Dale Leroux. Then with only eight seconds left in the first, Adam Knoll banged in a rebound to put the Falcons up by 2. The Falcons almost made it 3 to end the first when Dale Leroux walked in one-on-one against the Barrie goalie off the face-off, but the Barrie goalie kept the puck out when the two collided. The second period was all Hanover, as Brody Weber and Luke Breen chased down the Barrie attackers that were trying to get to the net. The offensive line of Adam Knoll, Cam Rourke and Christean VanDepoll cycled the puck well in the Barrie zone, generating a number of shots and scoring opportunities. The hard work paid off for that line, first on a goal by Christean VanDepoll and shortly after that, a goal by Cam Rourke. At the end of the second period, Hanover had a commanding 4 goal lead. The fatigue started to show in the third when half way through, the Falcons found themselves in penalty trouble. With two men in the penalty box and Barrie double shifting their better skaters, they were finally able to solve Caden Prues' excellent play when they picked up a loose puck in front of the net. Shortly after that, the Falcons took one of the Barrie's forwards down while on a break-away resulting in a penalty shot. On the penalty shot, Caden Prues picked up the puck in his pad, but couldn't hold onto it as it slowly trickled over the goal line. With three minutes left, the Falcons re-grouped with a quick time out. The Falcons shut the Barrie attackers down, came close to scoring an empty netter and held on for the Championship! Final score was Hanover 4, Barrie 2. With a team celebration on the ice it was then back to the Super 8 for some more celebration into the night!
Way to go Falcons! Your teamwork and dedication has once again paid dividends! The coaching staff and parents are very proud of all your accomplishments this year. Next up, the play-offs.
Coach Chris
