Announcement
Hello faithful Viper’s fans. It seems like a year since you were last updated on your favorite Atom B hockey team. In fact it has only been 3 weeks. The Viper’s used that 3 weeks for rest and relaxation and have only had 2 practices since Dec 21.
Well 2009 is upon us and the Viper’s begin their quest to be the best Atom B team in the city. Some changes have occurred in team operations that I thought I would update you on. Firstly all second year players must now tie there own skates in the second half of the season. All of our second years are headed to Peewee next year and have to be able to tie there own skates. Secondly our assistant captains will be named permanently for the second half of the season. The coaches awarded Carson Stuve an A today and will name the second two assistants in the near future. The boys have been told that they can earn an A by displaying leadership and working hard every practice and game. Next practice the players are also going to be given a chance to tell who they think should be the assistants.
On Sunday afternoon the Viper’s played an exhibition game against a Sylvan Lake Atom A team. The Viper’s played this team twice before, in the Spruce Grove tournament, winning once and losing once. The rubber match was a 2.5 hour stopped time game with floods between every period, just like the pros. The Viper’s came out of the gates strong and took an early 1-0 lead and held on to the lead until the end of the first period. In the second period 3 quick goals reversed the tide and the Viper’s were down 3-1. Sylvan scored twice more in the period while the Viper’s chipped in 2 and we went into the change room down 4-3. In the third period the wheels came off the wagon as Sylvan Lake scored 5 more times to our 3 and wound up winning 9-6. Carson Stuve was awarded the hardest working player of the game.
Some positives were taken from the game; we had moments of brilliance with sustained pressure and strong defensive play, we killed off a number of penalties including a 5 on 3 opportunity, and we scored a couple of times on the power play. It also highlighted some areas that we need to continue to work on. In the end this game will help us get to where we want to be at the end of the year.
Next week we practice 3 times, including our first outdoor practice of the year, and we play a league game against Superior propane. In our first meeting against Superior Propane the Viper’s came away with a 5-4 victory.
