Oct 16, 2013 | Kelly Farnsworth | 902 views
Hard Work Paying Off for Bantam AE Otters
The 2013-2014 Tawingo Bantam AE Otters is comprised of a group of hard working players and bench staff. This group consists of players who are familiar with each other and have been playing together for a few years combined with several new additions to the group. This great group of young men are getting to know each other both on and off the ice as the season progresses.
The Otters started the season off with a strong win against the South Muskoka Bears in Exhibition play, with a score of 4-1 in the Otters' favour.
The regular season started off with a couple of crushing losses from Highland Storm (7-1) and Collingwood (9-4). Both these teams proved to be fast skating and aggressive opponents who got the jump on the Otters early out of the gate and kept the pressure up until the final buzzer. Even though the Otters were facing a strong offensive attack in both games, the team never gave up, which shows the depth of their character and spirit - 3 of their 5 total goals in these two match ups came during the 3rd period of the Collingwood game, where our boys demonstrated their perseverance.
Next, the Otters met up with the South Muskoka Bears again. The Otters held a convincing 3-1 lead for most of the game, but with a mere 3 minutes remaining in the 3rd period, the Bears awakened and managed to plunk in two goals to finish the game up a 3-3 tie.
The following day, the Otters travelled to Minden for another match up with the Highland Storm. Our boys were determined to not allow themselves to get "banged around" again by the Storm. They came out aggressively out of the gate and played at a hard and fast pace throughout three periods of play. Even though the score ended up a loss of 3-1 for the Otters, they put on an impressive performance and considerably closed the scoring gap from their initial match up with the Storm.
The Otters found themselves hosting two games over the Thanksgiving weekend. Friday night saw them meet up with the Almaguin Ice Devils for the first time this season. This game was also their first game on the large Don Lough ice surface. Our Otters seemed a little unsure of themselves out there and the Devils took full advantage, launching a strong offensive attack for 3 periods of play. Our Otters seemed to be playing "catch up" most of the evening, with a final score of 9-5 for the Devils.
The Otters didn't let their debut performance on the Don taint their effort the following night as they once again hosted the Highland Storm. Huntsville started the game off "on fire" and scored during the first shift of the game. They scored twice more in the first period and kept up a fast pace and did not shrink away from any of the physical play throughout three periods of hockey. Highland Storm kept up the pressure on their end as well, scoring late in the first and once more late in the third, but it was not enough to beat the energized Otters, with the final score being 3-2 in favour of the Otters.
This team has been working hard as a group from the bench staff to the forwards, defense and goalies - they win as a group and they lose as a group. They have displayed a strong work ethic in practice, dryland and game situations and they haven't let a couple of losses discourage them. They have shown what can happen if you dust yourself off after being knocked down. Their growth as a team is already apparent early in the season and with continued dedication, will further grow as the season progresses.
The Otters travel to Haliburton this Friday evening for their 4th match up with the Storm this season and will be off to Prince Edward County the following weekend for a tournament.