Some of the things I love most about team sports are also what I like most about cooking.
You’ve all had this happen to you: You develop a craving for a dish, dig out the recipe, assemble the ingredients, cook the thing and get something entirely different than the last time you made it.
This was the story in Jasper last weekend as our Bantam Bearcats took on the Slave Lake Thunder in a two game, Saturday, Sunday home stand.
On Saturday evening, the Bearcats were killing it. Goaltender Duncan McLeod set the tone early by making a couple of huge saves early in the first period, one a diving stop that robbed a Slave Lake shooter of what should have been a sure goal. Then, picking up on that energy in the fourth minute, Cooper Hilworth slapped in a dinger from the hash marks to get Jasper on the board first.
Hilworth would put Jasper up by two, four minutes later, converting a beautiful pass from Elvis Gorontzy-Slack.
In the second period, Hunter Zenner gave Jasper its third goal, tipping in a Matthew Park blast from the point, which was followed closely by Hilworth potting his third of the game, again on a feed from Gorontzy-Slack.
The Rhys Malcolm, Gorontzy-Slack, Hilworth line was on fire this game. In the background, McLeod was sharp between the pipes, not giving the Thunder anything to shoot at. Jasper led 4–0 after two.
In the third, Eric MacMahon and his line, with Zenner and power forward Jax Kading, got Jasper’s fifth goal, working the puck back to the blueline and tipping in a Tyler Carlton point shot.
Gorontzy-Slack kept the Bearcats’ pace of two goals per frame going, burying a Hilworth rebound, keeping the boys in full control.
The only disappointment was the solitary Slave Lake goal in the third, breaking McLeod’s shutout bid, but it didn’t detract from his outstanding goaltending performance.
Game one went to Jasper, 6–1.
Sunday afternoon, with a few players who were ineligible to play on Saturday, the Bearcats hit the ice with more energy than we saw just the day before. This, and some cooled off Jasper sticks, made for a tougher outing for the Bearcats, although still an exciting game.
Slave Lake struck first, making no mistake on a two on none breakaway, scoring behind Jasper netminder Severin Golla, who got a piece of it but not enough to keep it out of the net.
Magnus Stenlund got Jasper on the scoreboard with a point shot that deflected off the Thunder defenders and then Hilworth banked one in off the post on a breakaway, giving Jasper its first lead of the game. But unlike the day before, Slave Lake came right back, equalizing on a point shot that went right through Golla, ending the first period knotted at two goals a piece.
In the second period, the goalies at each end shone, with about 10 shots each and no goals from the Thunder, and only one from Jasper—a nice play by Kading on a power play, sliding the puck gracefully through the Thunder netminder’s skates and into the net.
The second ended with Jasper up by one.
In the third, the sticks of the Bearcats’ big scorers cooled off, and while the line of Troy Jackson, Joel Peleshaty and Trenton Rae really picked up the pace, they could not find their range, and Jasper would fail to add to the one goal lead it brought into the period.
On the other end of the ice, Slave Lake would capitalize on its opportunities, tying the game at the 14-minute mark, taking the lead at 11 minutes and sealing the deal with a 1:46 to play, scoring three goals on six shots, all of them great chances.
Same recipe, same ingredients, same cooks, completely different meal. It’s one of those intangibles that still makes for great eating—or hockey as the case may be—and keeps it interesting.
The Bearcats are home again next weekend to take on Athabasca, 3:15 p.m. on Sunday.
See you in the stands.
John Wilmshurst Special to the Fitzhugh
