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The Times Advocate, 2005-12-28, Page 12Crossroads 12 Exeter Times -Advocate Wednesday, December 28, 2005 2005 Huron -Perth Triple AAA Lakers EXETER — Every year the Times -Advocate profiles local players in the Huron -Perth AAA system. This year five teams are featured and this week include the minor atoms, major pee- wees, minor bantams and minor midget teams. The minor pee- wees will be featured next week. Here then are your 2005 Lakers: Age level: major atom Coach: Neil McKeown Last season's record and playoff result: 6-19-5 (17 points) Alliance Consolation Finalists Current record: 5-14-3 (13 points, eighth out of 11 teams) What are your team's strengths? Hard work. We even had a coach from an opposing team comment that we were the hardest working team they had faced. What are your team's weak- nesses? Consistency.We've proved we can beat the best teams in the league but also still lose to the worst. What did you learn from the inaugural year? What happened in the past doesn't determine the future. Last year, after losing all four regular season games to the Brantford 99ers, the Lakers went on to defeat Brantford in the playoffs and moved on to the next round. Any changes this year? What are they? Head coach - this is the first year coach Neil has coached this team. Goalies - we have two goalies this year after only going with one last year. Any special challenges your players have to overcome? Our numbers are small with only eleven skaters. Every player knows that they must come ready to play every game for the entire time they are on the ice - their team-mates are counting on them. We've had a number of injuries to overcome this season (not all of which were hockey - related) and currently still have one player who has been out for several weeks. Tell me briefly about the players from the T -A readership area. Jordan Pache from Exeter is a first year Laker who has suc- cessfully made the transition from playing defence to forward. Jordan is an excel- lent example of the Major Atom Lakers team through the hard work and determina- tion he displays, not only in every shift of every game, but in every prac- tice as well. What are the team's goals this season? To be recognized around the league as a very hard working, disciplined team. What has been the highlight of the season so far? Defeating the league leading team after giving up a goal in the first 12 seconds of the game. The boys didn't get down on themselves but rather buckled down, battled back and proved it doesn't matter how the game starts, the game isn't over until the third period ends. What is the difference between playing rep hockey and AAA? Focus and intensity. Every player is always focused on improving their play. This is most evident in prac- tices as all players listen intently to the coaches' instruction and in the practices' high energy level/tempo. Speed. The game is fast and unforgiving. If a team makes a mistake the other team will capital- ize on it. Additional comments: Coach Neil and his staff emphasize skill development, tactics and team strategy while engaging and motivating the players to work hard and play smart. Every player works up a sweat and feels like they play a lot. It's a demanding atmosphere backed with enthu- siasm and fun. Not only is it a great opportu- nity for player development but also an enjoyable experience as well, as the players have become not only team-mates but friends. Age level: major peewee twelve years old. Coach: Dave Partridge Last season's record and playoff result: Last season's league record; 18 wins -seven losses and five ties for 41 points and Eastern Division League Champions. Our team advanced into the league semi- finals and took the defending champions London Junior Knights to a full five games before succumbing to them. Current record: This year's regular season's record; 19 wins -three losses and three ties for 41 points and seven games to play. Currently in first place overall in the league and working hard to secure a second Eastern Division League Championship Overall record to date...37 games played, 27 wins six losses and three ties for 57 points, with 142 goals for and 68 goals against. Winning percentage of .770 What are your team's strengths? Our club has good bal- ance and very good depth. Our club is regard- ed as one of the hardest working teams in the league. Currently our team holds the fourth highest scoring average and the second best goals against average in the 12 team league. What are your team's weak- nesses? Definitely chocolate and snow days? ? these two things seem to cause a great lack of focus!!! What did you learn from the inaugural year? The important thing for every- one to remember is that there is always more to learn, in hockey and in life. We as a team staff try hard to build lots of life experiences into our AAA program while we teach the players a passion for the game!!! Any changes this year? What are they? There are not many changes with three new talented players and more of the same mes- sage..."nothing good in life comes without hard work!!!" Any special challenges your players have to overcome? The travel to and from games and practices might be seen as a chal- lenge...but certainly not a negative! There is lots of good one on one time with your child getting to and from hockey and of course making life last- ing friendships with kids and families from different areas. One thing is for sure...our kids are up to the challenge! ! ! Tell me briefly about the players from the T -A reader- ship area. #1 Jake "the Snake" Partridge...Jake is in his fourth year as a AAA Laker goaltender. His season, thus far, has been his best yet recording seven - shutouts, a 1.36 GAA and just one loss while posting a 15 wins - one loss and three tie record in his 19 games so far. Jake is a butterfly style goaltender that enjoys the high level of compe- tition and international play that AAA offers. Unlike Samson, Jake's energy doesn't come from his long locks....good thing as they just got lopped off!! Jordan #9 Jordan "Kadsy" Kadlecik Kadlecik...Jordan, also in his fourth AAA season, plays left wing. and has certainly become an integral part of our club's offense! Jordan has posted a solid contribution with nine goals and 15 assists for 24 points, with two penalty min- utes and a +/- rating of +28 in the 36 games Dylan Bedard he's played in. Jordan is one of our quickest players and has a great shot making him a solid contributor from the wing. He is easily identifiable at the rink....he's the one signing the autographs for the ladies!! #20 Dylan "Frenchy" Bedard...Dylan, as well, is in his fourth year in our AAA program. The "Frenchman" as he's affectionately known, also plays the left wing. Dylan too has had a solid contribution to the team's offense with 10 goals eight assists for 18 points with 12 penalty minutes and a +10 rating over his 37 games played. A small guy in stature, Dylan plays with great grit and determination His 'Big' efforts are an inspiration to his team- mates. Dylan's smile and fun -loving nature are always nice to be around at the rink!! What are the team's goals this season? Our goals were straight forward this season, to repeat as Eastern Division League Champions and match or improve our regular Jake Partridge Jordan Pache -e yr season record. This would establish us as consistent. To date, our club is on track to clinch the East (our magic num- ber is 3.5) and we've already surpassed last year's wins total and equaled last year's points total, all with seven more games to play. What has been the highlight of the season so far? Not short changing all the 'big' moments that we've had this year, the highlight certainly has to be getting invited to represent Huron and Perth counties at the 45th Annual International Peewee Tournament in Quebec City, in February. The Quebec Peewee tourna- ment, or "Little Stanley Cup" as it's known, is regarded as the world's most renowned hockey tournament and has over 800 NHL players in it's alumni. Sixteen countries will be repre- sented from the 144 teams invit- ed. The tournament, which takes place during the world famous Quebec Winter Carnival, spans 10 days and parts will be cov- ered on television. What is the difference between playing rep hockey and `AAA'? There are numerous differ- ences, but the major difference is likely the commit- ment level. These players and families have commit- ted to being part of an elite development experience spanning eight months and involving up to 22 ice hockey sessions per month. Twelve hours of practice per month and playing against the very best kids from all over south- western Ontario is a formula for "building better hockey play- ers"!! Over the last three seasons the percentage of "first-year" junior players that graduated from AAA hockey was upwards of 92 percent. The kids in our pro gram all have the goal Ryan 0' to take hockey and its opportunities as far as they can, and every day are moving closer to achieving it! ! ! Minor Bantam (1992) Coach: Jim Campbell 23-3-6 (first overall) Lost playoffs to Elgin - Middlesex in semi-finals. Current Record: 8-8-3 (1st in the East) Strengths: speed and good forecheck. Weaknesses: consis- tency Changes: three new players (two defence and one forward) Tyler Bryson - defence. (Exeter) - Tyler is the captain of this year's team. He brings good leadership on and off the ice. He is good on the powerplay and adds a physical presence on the ice with his size. Sean Consitt - forward (Hensall) - He is an assistant captain. Sean is an aggressive forechecker and is smart with the puck. He is a very positive player and brings a good effort to the rink everyday. The team's goals this season are to finish first in the east and advance to the Alliance finals this season. Highlight this season - Winning the Markham tourna- ment . Differences between rep hockey and AAA : The overall skill level of the players is much higher. The game is faster and generally, the overall commit- ment of the players and their families is higher. Age level: minor midget 15 years old Coach: Mike Brooks Last season's record and playoff result: Major Bantam 13W 13L6T Current record: 18 wins four - losses and five ties. What are your teams strengths? Much like last season this team is a very hard working team. They are committed to playing our system which shows in the amount of goals against we have allowed. What are your team's weak- nesses? I'm not sure if I would call it a weakness or not however we do not score many goals either so we end up playing a lot of one and two goal games. Any changes this year? What are they? We have added five new faces to our team this year, all of which have fit in very well and have added some needed spark to this hockey club. Tell me briefly about the players from the T -A readership area James Marsden: James is a big strong winger who skates well. He competes hard every game which is part of the reason he has strong potential to go fairly high in the OHL draft. J.J. Sparling: JJ is an assistant captain for our Reilly team this year. He comes to play every game and is one of the hardest working players on the ice every time he is out there. Ryan O'Reilly: Ryan is a 14 year old playing up this season and does not look out of place at all. He is one of our leading point scorers this season and is one of the best playmakers in our league. What are the team's goals this season? Our goal for this season is to win the Alliance Championship and represent the Lakers at the OHL Cup. What has been the highlight of the season so far? We started this season on an 11 game unbeaten streak. What is the difference between playing rep hockey and EAAA. AAA hockey is a great oppor- tunity for elite players to play with other elite players within their age group. There is a great deal more commitment required to play at the AAA level as we are on the road four to five nights a week. Jam Marsd es en Tyler B ryson Sean C onsitt J.J Spa rling