End of Season Wind Down.
I wanted to do one last write up for the AE2 players and review the season.
Review of the year, 2014-2015 Novice AE2.
When AE2 started this year, we were already behind the 8 ball. All teams in our league, including our friends in AE1, began tryouts and selected their teams by beginning of May. In AE2, we began in September. Most rosters include 17 players, while we had 12 show up for our tryouts. (If it sounds like I am complaining, I am not. These are the circumstances that make me even more proud of what we have accomplished this season.)
However, one must understand where we came from to fully appreciate where we ended!
Our first game came a week after our team was selected. My only hope for that game was that we would not lose by more then 10. To my surprise, these kids played very well and displayed a great deal of determination and heart. We hung in that game until the middle of the second period when all of a sudden we simply became too tired to compete. We lost that game 6-0, but were congratulated by our opponents and told that we will have a great season.
Following that first game came many, many great games. Some of the most memorable games for me are as follows.
- Our first win of the season against our friends in AE1. This was the first game we had more then 12 players as we managed to sign Ashton and Kayden Lovell, along with Dakota Marchand. Soon after, Mitchell Loveday. From the beginning of this game right until the end, we played well. We skated harder than we had all season and kept the pressure on all game. We won that game 6-3.
- The following week we played Essex for the first time, but with 13 players as both Lovell boys were unavailable for that game. Again, the kids came out of the gate fired up and played very well. We had a couple of goals we wanted back in the first and were down 3-0 by second period. Again, while displaying heart and determination, we scored 2 quick goals in the third and scored the game tying goal with a few minutes left in the game. We ended up with a 3-3 split.
- Perhaps, one of my favorite games of the season came against the Riverside Rangers, in Windsor. In the first 4 minutes of the game, Riverside were all over us and scored 3 quick goals. After the third goal, we dug deep and began to play our game. We scored 4 unanswered goals to take a 4-3 lead with 2 minutes left in the third period. With a minute and a half left, Riverside tied it up. In true AE2 fashion, and with 52 seconds left, we were all over them and went on a 2 on 1 rush. Ashton Lovell made a great pass across to Noah Wilson who scored the game winner!!! What a game. Final score 5-4 for us.
- Another possible highlight of the year, the game against the Burlington Bulldogs, in Fort Erie. This was a do or die game for us. If we lost, we were out of the tournament. If we tied or won, we were in the semi finals. This game went back and forth for a period and a half. Midway through the second period though, Burlington scored 6 goals to our 1. With our team being down 6-1, most thought we were out. Little did we know, this was going to be our greatest comeback! The coaches and I challenged the kids and asked them to show us how much they wanted to play in the semi finals. And they responded. We went on to score 5 unanswered goals and tie the game with 2 minutes left. At the end of the game, I don't think any coaches or parents had a voice left. What a game!! My most memorable moment of that game is when on the bench, Dakota Marchand looked at me and said, "Put me in coach, I am going to score." So, I did and Dakota went out, parked in front of the net and fired home a pass from the low slot! We tied that game 6-6 and eliminated Burlington from the tournament. I think they were in shock even more then we were!!!
In our regular season, we ended up in 6th place, but started the season in 11th place. At one point, we were in 5th place! This was great for a team that was not expected to win more than 3 games all season.
In our 2 tournaments, I think it is safe to say that we represented Kent Minor Hockey well. Both tournaments saw our team make it to the semi finals only to lose out to the teams that would eventually win the entire tournament. (Woodstock and Pelham.)
Players.
- Noah (Weapon) Coatsworth, Goalie. Noah started the season the same way he ended it, by working his butt of and having a good time. Noah became a very reliable goalie, especially towards the end of the season. When not playing, Noah was tapping players on the bench and offering words of encouragement. What a team player. Way to go Noah!
- Kayden (Mr. Fraseh) Fraser also established himself as a reliable goalie. On many occasions, Kayden stole the game for us making huge saves and keeping us alive. Kayden has a strong glove hand and made some huge glove saves this year as well!! Way to go Mr. Fraseh!
- Bradley (Oicks) Oickle, Defence. From the start of the season, Oicks established himself as a hard working defenceman. Positional, Oicks developed very well and did a great job learning the position. Oicks was chosen to be the team captain because he put forth so much effort in tryouts and practices and was first to try anything the coaches asked. Look for Oicks to continue to develop into a fine defenceman like his older brother, Harrison. Way to go Oicks.
- Gregory Ansell, Defence. Gregory began the season as one of the more inexperienced skaters on the team. Gregory had the tough task of working to develop his fundamental hockey skills while also learning to play positional defence. I must say, Gregory has been very impressive and had some very good games for us this year. Gregory, throughout the year, worked hard on his skating and became one of the faster skating players on this team. Positional, Gregory always seemed to find himself in the right spot and became a very reliable defenceman. Gregory was often the last man back and did a fantastic job clearing the puck and using the boards. Very impressed Gregory! I'm sorry we never got those practice socks Gregory.
- Reese (Churchy) Church started the season as a forward but moved back to defence when we were in need of a sturdy and reliable defenceman. Churchy is a beast and might be one of the toughest kids I have ever coached. He works extremely hard on the ice and protects his goalies very well. What amazes me most about Churchy is that he is only 7 and has another year of Novice. Look for Churchy to be an absolute stud on whatever team is lucky enough to have him next year.
- Jayden (Monster) Baylis is also a beast of a player. Jayden has a compete level that mirrors a 6 foot 4, 220 pound man. Jayden is first to go to the net and get into the corners. Jayden began the season as a very tough and reliable defenceman and eventually made the move to forward. Jayden scored many great goals through the season and finished the most recent tournament in St. Catherine's as the "Player of the Tournament." Jayden is also a novice again next year! Wow. Novice is going to be strong!!!
- Isaac (Izzy) Cook began as a defenceman and moved to forward towards end of season. Isaac played a lot like Jayden and was also a beast. Once Isaac moved to forward, he quickly began contributing with effort, assists and great goals. Isaac may be the most polite young man I have ever coached, or even met. Isaac will also play another year of Novice where I wont be surprised if he scores 30-40 goals. Great season Isaac!!! Very impressed.
- Kayden (K-Mart) Lovell became a star this year. The best part about Kayden is that he doesn't realize just how good he is. K-Mart came to the AE2 team as an AP after the 5th game. He slowly became a fixture on defence and began to steal games with his blazing speed and breakout ability. No one saw this coming!! K-mart finished the season as one of the top 3 scorers on the team and had the ability all season to carry this team on his back. I am quite comfortable in saying that I haven't seen a comparable player on any team we have played this year. K-Mart has my vote as league MVP.
- Memphis Peatson developed nicely as well. Memphis spent most of the season as a defenceman. Memphis is a very smooth skater and a big body. Our goal this year was to get Memphis comfortable in using his speed and size to rush the puck. By end of season, I am happy to say that we have seen many great rushes by Memphis. One resulted in a beautiful goal. Additionally, towards the end of the season, Memphis became quite reliable and moved the puck well. Memphis began to really understand the defence position and used the boards to make great outlet passes to forwards. Way to go Memphis. The funny thing about Memphis was that on and off all season he asked if he could play forward, and when I said yes, he went out and played a very strong game, in a defence spot!!!
- Dakota (Marsh-mellow) Marchand came to the team after the 4th or 5th game and quickly used her smooth skating to help our team. From the onset, Dakota quickly became a leader on our team. Dakota was the first player to help captain our face-offs on ice and ensured everyone was in the right spot before puck drop. Also, in pre-game talks, Dakota was first to speak up and offer words of encouragement to her teammates. Dakota was very consistent in working hard all season and you could guarantee that she would bring a great attitude and lots of effort to every game and practice. It truly was a pleasure coaching Dakota this year!
- Brayden (Hoss) Dehaas. Wow, what a player he developed into. Hoss started the first game as a defencemen and played well, however, I saw something in him that game that told me he would be a strong centreman. As a centreman, Hoss became a stud. Hoss played hard every game and skated with intensity each and every shift. Hoss scored some beauty goals throughout the year, much like his favorite player, Peter Holland! Although, I think Hoss' goals were nicer. Hoss embraced the term BEASTMODE and set a benchmark for the rest of the team. Hoss will be a Novice again next year. Look for him to score 30-3000 goals!!!
- Sean (Rocky) Mallette is a player full of heart. Sean has blazing speed and played very well on the showtime line (As coach Matt has named it) with Noah Wilson and Ashton Lovell. Sean, at times, could carry the team with his effort and determination. Sean was the first player to set a benchmark on back checking and may have saved many, many goals against by catching the opposing player that broke through. My favorite goal by Sean this year was the goal he scored with a minute left against Belle River 1 in OMHA playdowns. That goal became the game winner and tied the series at a game a piece. As Sean continues to believe more in himself, he will continue to be the dominant scoring forward he has been all year!!! Way to go Rocky!
- Noah Wilson was the player, in my opinion, that sometimes missed out in praise. The coaches son always does. This was Noah's second year of hockey and I must say, he developed into a top 3 player. Noah scored 1 goal all season least year as he was trying to find his way and shot. This year, Noah scored over 30 goals and had many assists. Noah become more dominant as the season went on and may have become one of the fastest and smoothest skaters on the team. Noah played on a line with Sean Mallette and Ashton Lovell most of the year and found great chemistry. Over the last game and a half, we moved Noah to defence where he established himself as being very reliable. Noah has a great shot and good foot speed. Look for Noah to continue developing over the next few years into either a top 2 defenceman or a top 3 forward. Way to go Nator! Both Coach and Dad are very proud of you!
- Connor Graham was a forward all year. From the start of the season, it was not hard to see that Connor had great hands. Our goal was to get Connor to move his feet more while using his great hands. Connor worked hard at that all season. There was a particular moment though with Connor, where he flipped a switch and became a strong shut down forward for us. I noticed a change in Conner when we played an exhibition game against St. Thomas, in St. Thomas. In that game, Connor used his speed and was so dominant. Since that game, he hasn't looked back and has played fantastic. I am very pleased with the way that Connor has developed and look forward to seeing just how dominant he will be when his feet catch up to his hands. Way to go Connor!!! Connor will also be a novice again next year.
- Mitchell Loveday was an AP for us this year. From his very first game, Mitchell was a firecracker on offense. Mitchell, like Connor, has the gift of great hands. He used them well. Mitchell became stronger over the course of the year as he became more comfortable on the wing and with back checking. When prompted, Mitchell was a very dominant back checking forward. My only complaint with Mitchell was that I did not get to coach him all year. Mitchell is a great kid and will do very well in hockey as he continues to develop his foot speed and defensive game. Look for great things from Mitchell in the future!
- Ashton (Dangles) Lovell was a stud from the moment he began playing on this team. Ashton has great speed and good hands and likes to dangle his way to the net. Ashton played very well with Noah and Sean all year. Ashton was always strong offensively for us this year, but one of my favorite parts of his game really began to develop towards the end of the season. Ashton became such a strong defensive forward. His back checking and blazing speed helped our defence and began to control the amount of shots we were taking on net. Ashton was a pleasure to coach and I expect big things from him next year. Way to go Dangles!!!! MEOOOW!
Overall, as the season winds down, I want to thank all of the coaches and our manager for all of the hard work they have put in all year to help create a fun and rewarding environment for these kids. There is an enormous amount of work that goes on behind the scenes from planning practices, tournaments, activities and parties for the kids. I am pretty confident that we achieved our goal of creating a fun and rewarding environment for the kids and wish them all the best!
I also wish to thank all of the parents on this team. I feel that we coaches were blessed with great parents this year and appreciate all of the support you gave us!
Lastly, I truly hope that you are all as proud of our AE2 players as I am!!!
Coach Anthony