From the Bench
Hawks AA fare well at Richmond Hill Early Bird

Let the games begin!

It's not quite regular season yet, but the preparations are in full swing. Practices are up and running (except for our initial one which got cancelled because of a major power outage), dry land training is under way, muscles are aching, egos are getting bruised, yelling, laughing, cursing, a few smiles, fund raising. Yup, this is what we've been waiting for.

One of the best devices we have to evaluate players is a tournament. September 6-9 saw our bantam AAs in the Richmond Hill Early Bird. With very little time to practise or play together we were not expecting much. Let's learn about the players, positions, strengths and weaknesses, the type of system we need employ, etc. etc. I'm not new to hockey, so I've seen this kind of stuff before, but I'm new to this team, so I've got to feel my way around, even more so than the returning staff.

Thursday gave us just the opportunity to do so. Our first game as a team and we haven't even gotten over some minor injuries from the summer. That causes line shifts, moving kids around without knowing just where you're going to end up, or how they're going to gel. Not to worry, coaches John & Benny keep reminding us this is just the starting point.

Our first opponent is Markham. A splendid effort, relentless attack, hard skating, resulting in a 5-1 victory. Surprised? Not if you had been there to see the boys crack their own whip. An all round team effort. Gotta like this. After the game I see coach John walking out of the dressing room with a tear in his eye. This is something new to me. Tears? I asked if everything was okay, and should have known what was coming, "have you smelled that dressing room, whew."

Friday evening saw us up against the Toronto Royals. A disciplined, good hockey team. Sure enough, it showed us just how much work we need to do in order to make an impact this season. Final in this match 4-0.

Saturday was do or die for the rest of the tournament. Like our first game there was an air of excitement in the dressing room. Good all round efforts, solid D, and forechecking. The boys rallied on the ice for another 5-1 victory, this time over Leaside. With 4 out of a possible 6 points, we were fairly certain of moving on.

Next opponent was Mississauga at 7:15 p.m. The game was delayed by almost 40 minutes. Not as good a result here, and it showed in our conditioning, or lack thereof. Not that they were that much better, we certainly have the talent, just didn't have the legs.

We lost 3-1, in a difficult, hard-fought battle. Right at the end frustration was running very high, and it showed. Penalties, suspensions, feverish tension. We're going to have to get a grip on this stuff over the season.

The end result was an inspiring 4th place finish over all, and a goals against average of 2.25. The consolation was Toronto Royals beating Mississauga Terriers in the final 3-1. We went home Saturday night, tired, but not beaten. For sure, this is what we've been waiting for.

DL