Oct 14, 2012 | Steve | 289 views
Novice Kinucks Gain Valuable Tournament Experience
The Home Hardware-sponsored Kincardine Novice Kinucks gained some valuable tournament experience, which should put these young players in good stead for the rest of the season, if not the rest of their lives.
The first Kinucks game at this tournament meant an early start for the entire team, with an 8am face off, down in Clinton. The players parents seemed to be shell shocked from this early rise as they huddled around a box of Tim Horton's coffee, eagerly awaiting the Kinucks to take to the ice. However, the early morning cobwebs were soon blown away, with a heart racing game one.
The Kinucks would face the North Middlesex Junior Stars in this first tournament appearance, in a game that they dominated for long periods of time. The game ended up a 3-3 tie, with the Junior Stars goalie in absolutely outstanding form, keeping his team in the game. The Kinucks performance was lead by the experience and skill of both Noah Swann, who picked up two goals, and Cody McClelland who scored the other with an end to end rush. Swann would also pick up the coveted 'hard working player' award, not just for his goals, but the physical effort that he applied for his team. Another noteable mention would be Kwade Biesel, who performed admirably between the pipes whenever he was called into action.
The second game soon followed with the Kinucks having a short break before taking on BCH Ice Dogs. This would be an end to end affair as the goals rained down. The first minute seemed to set the tone, as the Kinucks raced into a 2-0 lead, through Swann and McClelland. The final score of this game ended up with a 13-8 loss for the Kinucks, in a game that ebbed and flowed throughout. Noah Swann would pick up no fewer than six goals in this game, and you have to say that the kid was simply outstanding! The other goal scoring contributor against the Ice Dogs was Noah Page. The big D-Man stickhandled his way up the length of the ice before jamming the puck in between the goalies pad and the post. The Kincardine hardworking player was collected by Brock Courtney, for his own considerable efforts in this game.
The third and final game for the Kinucks would be against the Mitchell Meteors, resulting in a 7-1 loss for this young and very tired group of Kinucks players. Again, Noah Swann would pick up the consolation goal for the Kinucks with an impressive end to end rush. One player that still seemed to have plenty of gas in the tank was Quinton Page, who collected the Kincardine hardest worker award, and deservedly so.
Overall a good effort from a group of incredibly tired, young players, as they took in this new tournament experience.