Last weekend, the Jasper Bantam Bearcats played a pair of games against wildly differing opponents. In Mayerthorpe on Saturday they took an 8鈥�1 licking against the first place Mustangs, an improvement from two weeks previous where Jasper lost 15鈥�1, and from all accounts, a more impressive outing for the Bearcats.
Being held again to one goal was a tough pill for Jasper鈥檚 forwards to swallow. They play a run-and-gun style that can put up big numbers, and are clearly not accustomed to being trapped in their own zone for extended periods. And the Jasper defense, a smart crew who are adept at keeping their zone clean, had no answer for the Mustangs鈥� relentless offensive pressure.
Returning home to Jasper for a game against the Edson Nordiques on Sunday, the Bearcats had something to prove.
In the first 20 minutes against Edson, Jasper鈥檚 goal scorers left their mark. Snipers Rhys Malcolm and Brendan Auger each got a pair, while Bennett Paltzat and Hunter Zenner each contributed singletons. Matched against the Nordiques lone goal鈥攁chieved by shoving Bearcats鈥� goaltender Severin Golla into the net with the puck under his pads鈥擩asper was looking strong.
In the second period, Cooper Hilworth joined the fray with a pair of solo efforts, while Malcolm added two to his daily total, and Zenner, Auger and Paltzat each got one more. About eight minutes into the second, however, Bearcats鈥� netminder, Golla took his second head shot in as many games and had to leave the ice. He was backed-up by Duncan McLeod, who was on call from the PeeWee Bears. McLeod played 32 minutes of outstanding shutout hockey in a pressure situation鈥攂ut apparently he wasn鈥檛 rattled by the intensity of play or the pace. By all rights, he should have been quaking at the size and speed of his opponents, but he was cucumber cool.
In the third, the snipers got four more for Jasper, McLeod shut Edson down, but it was the Bearcats defense that really shone. Particularly impressive was the play of blueliner Kolby Kongsrud, who wheeled calmly with the puck despite being away from the ice for a spell.
Matthew Park has clearly upped his defensive game after a stint in AA Hinton last year, contributing a big shot to the back line along with Auger. Rounding out the D, Crimson Derbowka is solid with a lot of puck sense and the smarts to keep her out of trouble with much bigger opponents.
With this convincing victory, Jasper鈥檚 record now stands at two wins and three losses, good for four points and a tie for sixth place in this nine-team league.
Having now played both ends of the league鈥檚 success spectrum, the undefeated and the winless, Jasper can look forward to more equally matched opponents. Here their abilities to coordinate offensive pressure and defensive strength will be put to a fair test.
The Bearcats take next weekend off but travel to Athabasca to play the third and fourth place teams in the first December weekend. These will be much different games.
John Wilmshurt
Special to the 51暗网
