In Leonard Cohen’s hard to read novel, Beautiful Losers, is the passage: “How can I begin anything new with all of yesterday in me.” There was a strong sense of that tension as the Jasper Midget Bearcats faced the Barrhead Steelers, Nov. 13.
Barrhead ices some big bodies with heavy shots, and the Steelers soon learned that even with Jasper’s talented goaltending duo of Severin Golla and Jake Melanson that there are cracks in everything. That’s how the goals get in. Golla struggled to track down most of the shots that came his way in the first period and four eluded him. With Jasper on its heels for most of the period, only managing a few meaningful penetrations of the Steeler’s zone, the first period buzzer sounded with Jasper down four to nothing.
Barrhead added a fifth goal early in the second with Melanson between the pipes, but Tegan Barker would get that one back, finishing a play started by Jack Hilworth and Elvis Gorontzky-Slack. Barker would return the favour at the midway point of the game, dishing to Gorontzky-Slack on a power play who made no mistake for Jasper’s second goal of the period. Hilworth would get Jasper’s third, again on a power play pulling the Bearcats to within two. Hallelujah. But with the period drawing to a close, and heavy traffic in the crease, the Steelers would score their second goal of the period and go into the second intermission with a 6-3 lead.
Before the third period deteriorated into a frenzied parade to the penalty box, each team would score once more; Barrhead on a blast from the half wall and Jasper off the stick of Brendan Auger who picked up an impressive stretch pass from goalie Melanson at the Barrhead blueline, walked in and buried it. In the final 10 minutes of play, with arena announcer, Jenn Melanson’s voice getting as raspy as Janis Joplin in the Chelsea Hotel due to the onslaught of infractions, each team scored once more to make it 5-8 for the Barrhead Steelers. The Bearcats would do well to start something new, reflecting on the yesterday that is in them.
This weekend, the Ponoka Midget boys roll into town for two scheduled games. Game one is Saturday, Nov. 19 at 7:00 p.m. Game two is on Sunday, Nov. 20 at 3:30 in the afternoon. See you in the stands.
John Wilmshurst special to the Fitzhugh
