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Photo
Credit: Studio Arts
Photography (Jennifer Harrison)
Back (L-R) Kyle Hebb
(Trainer), Evan White, Raymond
Harrison (Asst. Coach),
Gina Reid, Jonathan Guilderson, Brett McCulley, Travis Canning, Tim
Mills, Stephen Clarke (Coach)
Front (L-R) Alyson Picard, David White, Josh Hebb,
Garrett Clarke, Evan Canning, Justin Harrison
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Sunday, March 26, 2006
(Brooklyn, Hants County) The Parrsboro Bantam 'B' Predators
could have been considered underdogs as they entered the "Final
Five" Bantam B Provincial Tournament hosted last weekend at the
Brooklyn Arena near Windsor but that was not going to affect the
approach of this young squad of 11 skaters and 1 goalie. They had
earned the opportunity to be part of the season ending tournament
and travel to Brooklyn to win and return home with a Provincial
banner. Knowing their opponents would certainly be fielding longer
benches, the Bantam Predators understood the road to the banner
would be a challenging one yet were determined to play hard and play
smart, a formula for success that has worked so well throughout the
season.Following
participation in the opening ceremonies on Friday evening,
Parrsboro's first opponent was Queens County (Liverpool). Not
knowing what to expect after seeing the large contingent of players
on the Liverpool squad, 19 in total, Parrsboro came out strong from
the drop of the puck and soon found themselves on the score board.
Knowing a shift in momentum could arise at any time, Parrsboro
continued to force the play and soon found themselves with a
comfortable lead. A couple of early key saves by goaltender Josh
Hebb provided the team with the confidence to continue forcing the
play. Liverpool never recovered resulting in an 8-1 win for the
Predators. Goal scorers for Parrsboro were Evan Canning (4), Travis
Canning with 2, Tim Mills and Jonathan Guilderson each with 1. The
MVP of the game was Evan Canning.
Saturday morning would see the
Predators face the host West Hants Warriors. Parrsboro, confident
with their strong play in Friday's contest and West Hants needing a
win after losing their first game to Eastern Shore on Friday night,
knew that the host team would come out strong looking to gain
control of the game early. The Warriors came out hard as expected
and scored two quick goals. Not to be outworked, Parrsboro took
control with a couple of "hard fought" goals putting Parrsboro right
back in it. Building on Friday night's strong performance, Parrsboro
net minder Josh Hebb made several crucial saves allowing the team to
take control of the second half of the game that would end 6-3 in
favour of Parrsboro. Defenseman Garrett Clarke and forward, Jonathan
Guilderson each scored 2 goals, while Travis Canning and Evan
Canning would each add 1. Garrett Clarke was named game MVP for
Parrsboro.
Saturday afternoon's contest was set
between Parrsboro and the Eastern Shore Mariners who remained
undefeated to this point of the Tournament. Eastern Shore would come
out strong and Parrsboro found it difficult to match the defensive
style of the Mariners but despite a barrage of shots on the
Parrsboro net, the score remained low until early in the second
period when Parrsboro defenseman, Garrett Clarke and an Eastern
Shore player were chasing for the puck along the boards. The two
became unintentionally entangled both hitting the boards feet first.
Parrsboro would initially be issued a two minute penalty but due to
a lower leg injury of the Eastern Shore player, the penalty was
assessed at five minutes and a game misconduct. Despite both teams
and officials agreeing that the play and resulting injury were
unintentional, the assessed penalty would stand as ruled by Hockey
Nova Scotia. Following the more than 40 minute delay in the game,
Parrsboro never settled back in resulting in their first loss of the
tournament by a score of 5-1. John Guilderson scored the lone
Parrsboro goal while Travis Canning was named game MVP.
Saturdays tough afternoon loss and
playing with an already short bench without one of the teams key
defensemen placed Parrsboro in a tough situation as they would face
Baddeck Sunday morning in a crucial contest that would see the
winner advance to meet Eastern Shore in the afternoon Championship
game. Parrsboro has been known to overcome such adversity in the
past and were not about to give up without a fight. Both Baddeck and
Parrsboro came out hard with plenty of "back and forth" action
throughout the first period. Baddeck got on the score board early
with a couple of "hard to the net" goals, while Parrsboro didn't
seem to have the "luck of the puck" for Sunday's contest.
Parrsboro's Travis Canning hit a goal post and a cross bar and
forced the Baddeck goalie to make a couple of difficult saves. As
well, a "quick" whistle on a goal scored for Parrsboro was called
back dampening any momentum shift for Parrsboro to allow them back
into the game before the third frame. Following the second
intermission, the deflated Parrsboro squad knew they would have to
come out strong and score early if they were to have any chance at
meeting Eastern Shore in the Championship game Sunday afternoon.
Instead, Baddeck would score on a turnover at Parrsboro's blue line
to further discourage the "tired and battered" Predators. Parrsboro
would lose the contest 7-2 eliminating any chance to play in the
afternoon Championship contest. John Guilderson scored both goals
for Parrsboro and Brett McCulley was named game MVP.
In other weekend activities,
Saturday evening saw several Predators participate in the Provincial
Skills Competition. In the first event, Parrsboro got off to a fast
start with Travis Canning as he won the Fastest Skater event. Tim
Mills finished in the runner-up position in the Backward Skater
event. Gina Reid participated in the Stick Handling Competition, and
Evan Canning in the Accurate Shot competition, both putting forth
respectable efforts. The final event saw Jonathan Guilderson in the
Shooters event with Josh Hebb in the Goaltenders competition. Both
participants played well, with Hebb not allowing a goal in the first
round, only to be defeated in a "sudden death" round allowing two
goals to pass while the Baddeck and Eastern Shore goalie escaped
with one; the Baddeck goaltender was the eventual winner of this
event. By all accounts, the Parrsboro participants represented
themselves, their team and PMHA well in this "just for fun" event.
Further, at the closing ceremonies
held following the Championship game on Sunday, the Parrsboro Bantam
B Predators again were well represented as the awards were being
handed out. Defenseman Tim Mills and forward Travis Canning each
were named to the Tournament All-Star team. Congratulations to both
on this well deserved accomplishment!
Coaches Stephen Clarke and Raymond
Harrison, along with team trainer, Kyle Hebb, all agreed that each
member of this team played an important role in the "Road to the
Final Five." Defensemen Tim Mills, Alyson Picard, Evan White and
Garrett Clarke; forwards, Gina Reid, Brett McCulley, Evan Canning,
Travis Canning, Jonathan Guilderson and Justin Harrison; as well,
David Johnson who played the dual role of forward who could drop
back to defence when needed; and finally, Josh Hebb, whole played
solid all season as goaltender for the team. As the 2006 season
closes for the Bantam Predators, each team member should remain
proud of their many accomplishments and learn from this most
worthwhile experience as each moves forward to the 2006/07 season.
Some will remain with the Bantam group for another year carrying
with them the experience that hopefully can be delivered to a
Provincial Tournament next season. Others will bring forward this
season's experiences to an already talented Midget team in the
pursuit of a Provincial banner once again. Job well done!
Above: Parrsboro Bantam B Predator
goaltender Josh Hebb prepares for a shot from the slot during recent
action at the Nova Scotia Provincial Bantam B Hockey Championships
in Brooklyn over the weekend. |
