Have you ever been tempted to floridly describe an event that you didn鈥檛 attend. 鈥淕ee, dad, what was it like the last time the Leafs won three cups in a row?鈥� Frankly, I can鈥檛 resist such opportunities, and with a kid at home on the mend instead of on the ice with his team last weekend, what follows is an unabashedly imaginary recapitulation of two hockey games I did not witness.
Last weekend, the Jasper Midget Bearcats drove through Alberta鈥檚 mid-winter gloom to revisit the bustling metropolis of Vegreville, home of the already described, world鈥檚-largest Easter Egg and the Midget Wranglers. Stinging from a two-goal defeat the last time they visited V-town, the Bearcats were seeking both to reclaim the season series from the Wranglers and extend their one game unbeaten streak begun two weeks ago in Ponoka.
Game one Friday night was one for the ages, with scintillating end-to-end action and big hits. Although the Bearcats could not capitalize on an early five-on-three power play chance, Rhys Malcolm nevertheless put Jasper on the scoreboard first, eluding the Mustangs netminder in close. Defenseman, Jack Hilworth kept the ball rolling for Jasper just 46 seconds into the second period with an absolute rocket from the point. Tegan Barker, back in the lineup after a few weeks off with a bum wrist, completely cracked Vegreville鈥檚 egg two minutes later, making no mistake on a breakaway and giving Jasper a strong, three-goal lead. With this goal, the Mustangs were forced to abandon their physical play to generate offence. The question was; is it too late? The answer came from birthday boy Erik Paukstat who gifted himself a top cheddar goal on a breakaway for Jasper鈥檚 fourth. It took a screen shot from the point late in the period to shatter Bearcat netminder Jake Melanson鈥檚 shutout and give Vegreville some hope of a comeback.
In the third, Vegreville played with aggression and volume that matched the 80鈥檚 rock n鈥� roll reverberating through the arena. Although Jasper got into some penalty trouble, strong play from Jayden McDonald and Dimitri Buttazzoni in front of Melanson made his hard work look easy. Add an empty netter by Malcolm and Jasper strutted away Friday night with a 5-1 victory and their streak intact.
During Friday鈥檚 game, the Jasper parents wagered rather pessimistically on that game鈥檚 outcome. They were proven wrong, but their vociferous support in the early going of Saturday鈥檚 rematch had the unfortunate impact of spurring Vegreville on. Little more than two minutes in the Mustangs held a two-goal lead. Our Bearcats also didn鈥檛 respond well, expressing their disquiet with a parade to the penalty box. But the Mustangs couldn鈥檛 make them pay. Another blast from the point from Hilworth just past the halfway mark of the first put Jasper on the board and back in the game. The first ended 2-1 in Vegreville鈥檚 favour.
The second was all Bearcats. It took a little to get going, but Hilworth tied the game with a puck he absolutely hammered into the twine from the hash marks 11 minutes in. Then hard-working Liam Fengler-Wood picked up his own rebound from the end boards for Jasper鈥檚 go-ahead goal. Barker followed-up, wristing a trademark seeing-eye pill into the net in the period鈥檚 dying minutes to give Jasper a two-goal lead going into the break. Betting on the outcome was closed for the parents.
The Bearcats had witnessed how Vegreville packed up the tents the previous night and Paukstat opened up the tailgate for them by putting Jasper up by听 three a minute into the frame. Vegreville stopped skating, managed only six shots and with Hilworth completing his hat trick halfway through the period, it was all over. Final score: 6-2 Jasper.
That鈥檚 three in a row for the Bearcats, but you might want to verify the facts with note-taking team manager, Marci DeWandel. The Bearcats are idle this weekend.
John Wilmshurst Special to the 51暗网
