The Jasper Bantam Bearcats travelled to Whitecourt Oct. 17 to face-off against the hometown Wolverines in the second weekend of what is going to be a long, but yet to be fleshed-out, 26 game season.
The bantam level is currently the point where minor hockey players make first contact with, well, contact. Although the vast majority of players after minor hockey will never again play with contact, it is here that they enter the crucible of kids hitting kids.
Contact came into play early in the first period when Jasper forward Cooper Hilworth was assessed with what had to be his first career four-minute hit-to-the-head. Last year Cooper was pound-for-pound the most tenacious Jasper forward and, as a result, drew a lot of head-shot penalties. This year he’s gone up a few skate sizes and now has to be careful of where and how he hits with his aggressive style of play.
Thanks to some great defensive work by Matthew Park and confident play between the pipes by Severin Golla, the Bearcats successfully killed off the penalty, but it was a tough four minutes.
Nevertheless, shortly after Hilworth got out of the box, Magnus Stenlund fired a point shot under the outstretched glove of the Whitecourt netminder for the game’s first goal, and then immediately assisted on the second goal, a scorching wrister by Joel Peleshaty.
Rhys Malcolm then put Jasper up by three, burying a pass from linemates Trenton Rea and Troy Jackson with less than a minute left in the period. But Whitecourt was able to get that one back seconds later, flipping a buzzer beater top shelf, short side over Golla’s glove.
Penalty trouble dogged Jasper in the second period, with eight minutes in the sin bin and only three shots on goal, none of which found the back of the net.
Whitecourt stayed out of the box and managed eight shots, most of which were stopped by second half goalie, Duncan McLeod. He did let one past him, drawing the Wolverines within one of the Bearcats by the end of the second frame.
A minute and a half into the third, the Wolverines tied the score at three, but then Jasper’s offense kicked into gear, scoring three unanswered goals, two off the stick of Hilworth and one more from Peleshaty, thanks to a beautiful feed from Jax Kading at the far post.
But more was going on in this third period for Jasper than goals. It became apparent from the stands that the Jasper players were beginning to understand the role of contact in their game. Eric MacMahon, a very smart, although not a very big, first year Bantam, was using his body to effectively separate opponents from the puck. Fellow rookies Tyler Carlton and Trenton Rea were playing the puck and paying the physical price, but bouncing up and getting right back in the play, while Jackson used his size to his advantage along the boards. They’d do well to emulate the veteran, Matthew Park who is unbelievably stable on his skates and has clearly learned how to shrug off challenges by even the most aggressive opponents.
Hockey is a physical game and players need to learn how to use their bulk to move the puck to their advantage. And while it makes little sense to permit teenagers to mash one another on the ice when they will never use it again in the recreational hockey they will play, as long as contact is permitted it is important that players learn how to use it safely and effectively. The Bearcats are getting there.
Jasper was triumphant in Whitecourt after 60 minutes, not having out-hit the Wolverines, but having outshot them 36 to 20 and crucially outscored them 6 to 3. Our Bantam boys are now two for three in this young season.
There are possible games, although not yet confirmed, for Oct. 24 in Jasper amidst the Atom “Rumble in the Rockies” tournament, and a pair of PeeWee boys games. Whatever happens, you can read about it here next week.
John Wilmshurst
Special to the Fitzhugh
