Brick Novice Hockey Tournament at West Edmonton Mall: Day 4
By Trevor Robb
EDMONTON — The Connecticut Yankees took a stranglehold on the second place spot in Division 1 after they easily disposed of the Atlantic Canada Junior Selects 9-2 during day four of the Brick Novice Hockey Tournament at West Edmonton Mall Thursday afternoon.
The Yankees were coming off their first loss of the season, dropping 7-3 to the first-place Chicago Jr. Blackhawks, a loss that left a sour taste in the mouths of Yankee players.
“They came out angry, they came out flying and chasing pucks and putting pucks into good areas, it was fun to watch,” said Yankees head coach and former Edmonton Oilers’ captain Doug Weight.
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- Connecticut Yankees forward John Farinacci, #87, fires the puck past Atlantic Canada Junior Selects goaltender Ben Gibbon, #30, during day four of the 2011 Brick Invitational Super Novice Tournament at West Edmonton Mall on Thursday, July 7, 2011. The Yankees beat out Team Atlantic by a score of 9-2. Photograph by Trevor Robb.
“I know they’re ten, but I think they were a little mad and embarrassed yesterday,” said Weight. “They came out really flat (against Chicago) and they weren’t moving their feet, they’re kids so we weren’t hard on them or anything like that, but we let them know that if you’re not going to play consistent, every team here is good enough to beat you.”
From the drop of the puck, the Yankees were on fire, chasing Atlantic goaltender Cal Sandqvist, after he allowed three goals in the first six minutes of the game. The third came off a penalty shot goal by Yankees forward Timothy Heinke, who came in with speed and went to his backhand to flip the puck over a sprawling Sandqvist.
The Yankees out-shot Atlantic Canada 45-18 and capitalized on two of their three powerplay opportunities. Heading into the second intermission the Yankees were up 7-1, but in a tournament where who makes the playoffs can ultimately be decided on goal differential, the Yankees were in no position to let up.
“We lost a 7-3 game yesterday, so it was important that we just played our game,” said Weight. “We weren’t talking about pouring the goals in, we’re talking about good habits and when you’re up 6-0 you want to play like its 0-0.”
Yankees forward Trevor Zegras led the game with two goals and an assist, putting him at a total of six goals and four assists in four games played. Zegras moves into a tie at the top of tournament scoring with Blackhawks forward Cole Caufield (5G, 5A, 4GP) and Toronto Bulldogs forward Jack Hughes (3G, 7A, 5GP).
Connecticut (3-1-0) will lead the tournament off tomorrow morning at 7:30 a.m. with a game against the Minnesota Blades (1-2-1), and will play again at 5:30 p.m. against Toronto Pro Hockey (1-1-2).
“Tomorrow morning’s game is huge, we can take a lot of pressure off of ourselves and throughout that day we will find out where we stand,” said Weight.
It’s coming down to the playoff rounds, and as the pressure mounts it’s up to the coaches to make sure their players are prepared as each game becomes all that more important.
“Its all about having fun, the reason we’re prepared is they want to win, so we want to put them in a position to win,” said Weight. “Win or lose, you have to enjoy it.”
