2012 Junior Elite League got under way last weekend in Christchurch
The New Zealand Junior Elite League (JEL) for 2012 got under way on Saturday 23rd June at Alpine Ice in Christchurch, with Canterbury hosting Auckland for the first of two weekend games.
Game Report # 1: JEL 23 June 2012, Canterbury 6 v Auckland 6
Canterbury, with no points in the previous JEL season, were looking to prove that 2012 would be a different story. Coach Anatoly Khorozov had a largely injury-free squad to choose from, and iced what would prove to be a very competitive roster for the weekend.
As the puck dropped on the new season, both teams played a steady, if tentative first period. The lines started to get established, with team captain Mason Kennedy anchoring the D’s and ensuring Canterbury held firm. The top forward line of Rom van Stolk, Harry McBride and Shaun Brown was effective in balancing the top Auckland line and shutting down their efforts.
It was also a very encouraging debut for the two Hungarian imports, Peter (D) and Ga’bor (F) Pribula, both of whom had excellent games. As the period wound down, Auckland took the first penalty of the game as Robin Vortanov was caught hooking, and from the face off, excellent puck possession and cycling from the Leon Forgues, Ga’bor Pribula and Jake Ratcliffe line resulted in the opening goal, Ratcliffe tucking in the loose puck as it spilled close to the post. 1-0 Canterbury end of the first.
The second period saw more action, as Auckland got themselves into penalty trouble, and Canterbury exploited the odd man advantage to notch another three goals, the first two enabling Jake Ratcliffe to complete his hat-trick, both after good assists from Ga’bor Pribula. Canterbury were not having it all their own way however, as Auckland opened their scoring for the weekend with unassisted goals to firstly Olli Hay, and then two to big Josh Rawiri.
Before the period ended, Alex Damm decided it was time to announce his presence on the JEL scene, as he exploded with the first of his three goals, assisted by Caitlin Heale and Luke Hill, making his JEL debut. 4-3 Canterbury at the end of the second.
As the see-saw game progressed, Canterbury fell into some discipline issues, with a 2+10 minute major to little Ga’bor Pribula for checking to the head (it remains uncertain how he could possibly have got up that high!!), as well as three other minors meaning Canterbury played it tough trying to close out a first win.
Auckland scored two quick goals at the start of the period, reversing the lead to 5-4 in favour of the Northerners. Alex Damm, now filling in on the top two Forward lines, was having none of this, and banged in his second to level the scores at 5-5 with just under 10 to go, off a nice van Stolk feed. Auckland got their noses in front once more at 6-5, but Alex Damm had the final say, completing a remarkable hattrick to equalise for the Junior Devils with just under 4 to go.
Just for good measure, on one of the final shifts, Alex tracked Auckland star Olli Hay all the way around his own boards before executing a textbook perfect body check into the boards, separating Olli from the puck. A frantic final few minutes ensured as both teams searched for the victory, but the final result was 6-6.
Daniel Lee had a solid two+ periods in goal, before relinquishing the net to Taylor Johnson. Taylor stood on his head for most of the final period, turning aside all but one of the Auckland efforts. Great starts to the season for both Goalies, and for the Canterbury team.
Overall, Coach Khorozov felt Canterbury skated better as a team, and worked hard for each other all over the ice, but was ultimately disappointed not to get the win. A point however, is more than the team earned all last season, and so was recognised as a positive start to 2012.
The team also wished to recognise the efforts of so many of the senior Red Devils, who came down to Alpine in a much appreciated show of support for their junior colleagues. Thanks guys, it means a lot to the team!
Player of the game for Canterbury was Jake Ratcliffe
Game Report # 2: JEL 24 June 2012, Canterbury 4 v Auckland 5
Game #2 of the JEL League commenced at 10.00am on Sunday 24th, with some tired legs from the previous day, but with largely no injuries. Coach Khorozov made some minor adjustments to lines, with Caitlin Heale moving to a D partnership with Mason Kennedy, and Karl van Slooten jumping onto a wing.
The Junior Devils again started strongly, and opened the scoring through Jake Ratcliffe, going high on the short side post after a Caitlin Heale feed. Canterbury went to 2-0 with Ga’bor Pribula finishing a move on the power play, assisted by Jake Ratcliffe, as the two seemed to be striking up a valuable on-ice understanding . Auckland clawed their way back though just before the end of the period, Olli Hay exploiting a Canterbury penalty to keep the Aucklanders within touch.
In the second period, the game started to unravel for Canterbury, as ill discipline saw them take a quite staggering six penalties, one of which was a 10 minute misconduct for talking back to the officials. Miraculously, Auckland only took one further goal whilst the Cantabs occupied the penalty box for much of the period.
At the period break, a fired up Coach Khorozov implored his young charges to keep their heads, and to stop taking the needless penalties that were hurting his team. On the positive side, the team were playing a strong physical game, and the passing and movement were excellent, but the finishing was not there, and the scoreboard was not troubled as it should have been.
In the final stanza of the weekend, both teams traded three penalties each, and Canterbury climbed into two goals, the first a Jake Ratcliffe snapper on a power play, and the second had Ga’bor Pribula troubling the twine after yet another good feed from the tireless Caitlin Heale. So Canterbury led 4-3 with just under 10 to go, and as they tried to kill yet another penalty, Auckland exposed the free ice to see Josh Rawiri level the scores at 4-4. Then, after some careless back-checking, the same player broke Canterbury hearts, as he burst into the zone and roofed an unstoppable shot to take a 5-4 lead that the Northerners would not relinquish.
The story of the game for Canterbury was poor discipline, and finishing, or a lack thereof, as despite outshooting Auckland 42-27, the Junior Devils could not put the puck in the net often enough to get that elusive win. But two very competitive games over the weekend bodes well for a good season, as the team look to the next round, away to the Southerners in Dunedin on 14/15 July.
Player of the game for Canterbury was Caitlin Heale.
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