The Bantam Rep Blues led from start to finish in possibly their best performance of the year Saturday afternoon at the Sunshine Coast Arena.
Strong goaltending, great defence and special teams helped propel the Blues to a 5-1 win over the Cloverdale Colts.
After a scoreless first period, the Blues came out strong in the second. Cloverdale was assessed a double-minor penalty and the Blues capitalized scoring a pair of power play goals less than 30 seconds apart.
Michael Ondzik and Brandon Kohuch scored the goals with assists going to Colton Vaughn with two, Brady Bjornson and Michael.
The Blues capped a solid period with a late goal in the final minute from Graham Marsh to lead 3-0 after the second period.
Shayne Newcombe and Jessie Ostrosky picked up the assists.
The Blues kept up the pressure in the third scoring two minutes into the period as Graham picked up an unassisted goal.
The Colts actually scored the goal as one of their defenceman inadvertently shot the puck into his own net, while he tried to clear it to the sideboards.
The Colts ruined the shutout for Blues' goalie Kyle Trousdell shortly after the fourth Blues' goal, but with seven minutes to play in the game, the Blues restored their four-goal lead as Michael scored his second of the contest. Cameron Graham and Brandon picked up the assists.
"All the inconsistent stuff went away and we played a really patient and disciplined game," said Blues coach Randy Younghusband. "Kyle wasn't very busy, but when we had a breakdown he was there to bail us out. Hopefully we can carry this effort over into our last few regular season games and into the playoffs."
Unfortunately for the Blues, they couldn't string two games together as they dropped a 5-1 decision to Surrey on the road Sunday.
Cameron scored the lone goal for the Blues with the assist going to Brandon.
The Blues play on the road Saturday in Ridge Meadows and play their last regular season home game on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. against Langley.
Midget HouseThe Midget House squad picked up another win on Sunday as they continued their strong play.
The Midgets won 5-3 against the North Shore Winter Club at Burnaby Eight Rinks.
Coach Nick Bergnach said it was nice to win, but thought the team could have played better.
"Some of our key players didn't step up the way I know they can," Bergnach said. "It was a win, but it wasn't our best effort."
Dustin Christmas, coming off a hat trick last week, kept up his scoring touch with a pair of goals, while Eldon Chernowsky added a single.
"Our second line with Spencer Williams, James Pomfret and Chris Hamilton played a great game," Bergnach added. "That line always comes to play. They cycled the puck well and gave it 110 per cent."
The house squad plays its last regular season home game on Saturday at 12:15 p.m., then heads to North Vancouver on Sunday for a game against the North Shore Winter Club.
Peewee RepThe Peewee Rep Blues had a busy week playing three games in four days.
On Thursday night the Blues travelled to Hollyburn for a rescheduled home game. Due to a delay with B.C. Ferries, the Blues didn't arrive in Horseshoe Bay until 6 p.m., which was the scheduled start time for the game. The players had to get partially dressed on the ferry and then go straight on the ice without a proper warm-up or pre-game preparation. The game didn't start well for the Blues, and they found themselves down 4-0, 10 minutes into the first period. With two minutes remaining in the period, Reece Nelson put the Blues on the board with the assist gong to Brendan Laird. The second period's only goal came from Grant Mayers with the assist going to Reece.
Unfortunately, a shortened third period of only two minutes cinched the game for Hollyburn 4-2.
Saturday the Blues travelled on the first ferry to Pitt Meadows for a game against Port Coquitlam.
The Blues got into penalty trouble in the game but managed to successfully kill a Poco two-man advantage.
Tied at 4-4 going into the third period, the Blues really poured on the pressure and took the lead on a Matt Brown goal, assisted by Grant. Late in the third period, a desperate Poco team pulled their goalie, leading to the final goal of the game on a deflection by Mitchell Lightfoot off of a Jack Parker shot into the wide open net, making the final 6-4 Blues.
Shortly after the game, the Pitt Meadows arena was shut down due to an over-abundance of carbon monoxide in the rink next door. This did not seem to affect the Blues' play, but some of the Sunshine Coast players complained of headaches and nausea later that day.
On Sunday the Blues again travelled to town, this time to Richmond to play Seafair. The Blues controlled this game from start to finish.
Sara Bradshaw, Jeremy Dempster, Jack, Reece, Matt, Grant and Mitchell scored Blues' goals. Assists were credited to Dusty Robinson, Graydon Benner, Matt, Brendan and Mitchell.
"I was disappointed with the game on Thursday against Hollyburn, but I can't really hold the players to task as the circumstances that led up to the game were completely out of their control," said coach Brent Parker. "The games on Saturday and Sunday saw us play a full three periods both games, which is good to see going into the last weekend of the regular season."
The Blues' last two regular season games are Saturday in Sechelt at 3:45 p.m. against Vancouver and Sunday in North Vancouver at 2:30 p.m.
Midget RepThe Midget Rep Blues had a tough weekend, losing a pair of games at home on Saturday and dropping a game to Mission on the road Sunday.
Abbotsford came to the Coast in game one Saturday. The game was a make-up game Abby couldn't attend earlier in the month due to poor weather conditions.
The Blues never got into a groove and lost 5-2.
"We were out-hustled, out-skated and out-played for the duration of the game," said media liaison Jac Cawsey. "It didn't help that we lost the star of last week's game, Derek Inkster, to a separated shoulder. But if that is the case, that is where the rest of the team has to suck it up and pick up their game."
Danny Baker and Justin Lynn scored the Blues' goals while Coty Haikonen, Adam Cote, Jordan Cawsey and Jeff Schwingenschloegl picked up the assists.
In game two, the Ridge Meadows Rustlers provided the opposition.
Although the Blues played a bit better, the Rustlers proved to be bigger and stronger and out-hustled the Blues en route to a 3-0 win.
Blues goalie Sean Blake kept his squad in the game with numerous saves as the Blues were out-shot 35-12.
"Ridge Meadows were a mouthy, hooking, grabbing team that had no problem playing the game of interference rather than a fast flowing hockey game," Cawsey said. "Talking to one of the officials after the game, I was told the refs were not impressed with the mouthiness of the players and coaches. It is pretty poor sportsmanship to gloat after you score a goal."
Sunday's game against Mission proved to be a tough test for the Blues. They also had some questionable penalty calls go against them.
"This may sound like sour grapes or an excuse to our season, but at some arenas our reputation precedes us and the refereeing becomes a bit one-sided toward the home team," Cawsey said. "It is pretty hard to score when you are in the penalty box after a cheap or imaginative call from the ref. We have a great core group of young men playing for and representing the Sunshine Coast. I leave an arena with my head held high, very proud of the effort they put in. You can see the team now melding into one of respect to each other and a genuine love of the game - what more can you ask for?"
