This past Saturday, the Novice AA Petes hit the
road and travelled to Whitby to play their third pre-season game of the
2019-2020 season. The nerves that generally accompanied the start of every game
so far, were beginning to subside as the excitement of hitting the ice for
another game was taking over.
This was the first time they would be wearing the new maroon away jerseys; and neither the long drive, playing in an opposing centers’ home barn, nor the malfunctioning zamboni, were going to affect the mentality of wearing these with pride and going home with a win.
The pre-game focused on 3 keys to the game:
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To play positional hockey and win the battles in every zone.
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Be aggressive on the puck and force the Whitby players before they get close to our net.
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Get the puck to the slot.
The pre-game also included the opportunity for the players to demonstrate their best cellys, as the team has a rule that cellys are not allowed on the ice.
With this prep out of the way, the players had plenty of jump when taking the ice; very slow and chippy ice due to not having a flood. They followed the team plan to a very strong performance. The goalies made big saves when called upon, the defence were able to move the puck up the ice with ease, and the forwards found the back of Whitby’s nets time after time. There was incredible passing, and hard fought battles that the Petes won in both ends.
The Novice AA Petes will round out the pre-season in Ajax October 19.
1 2 3…..Petes!!!