Hockey Tournament
Easton recently played in his first ever hockey tournament. Our team registered for a spot in the Bob Black Memorial tournament in Oshawa. The weather was trying to change our plans with freezing rain and bad roads but by the afternoon on Friday when Easton had his first game the roads were clear and I didn't even have to take him out of school as the busses were cancelled for the day so he was home anyway. We arrived just in time to watch my nephew Jayden play part of his game and we even saw him score! I had been talking with my sister all morning as he travelled in the bad weather with the team and Jason and Beckett were going to be joining him later. It was so great to watch him play (and score), but also great to give my sister verbal and photo updates. What a bonus as an aunt! The score of this game was 3-2. They win! Also a fun fact, both Jayden and Easton are #5!
After his game, Easton was up for his first game. I heard our team was the only house league team in their age group. The rest were Select. This tournament allowed both house league and Select. (Select is in between house league and Rep). Easton't team won their first game 4-3! They fought hard and played well. After this game the team headed over to Leisure Lanes Bowling Alley in Oshawa where the bonding began. The team knew each other from practices and games each week but this was a chance to connect without all the gear and really get to know one another with fries, chicken strips and fun. I think the ten pin balls were heavy but they laughed and had a great time.
New to the boys were the C, A, and A badges that they could earn to be pinned on their Jerseys. For game 2 on Saturday morning, Easton earned the A for his play from the last game as the hardest worker. This game was easier for the parents to cheer on the boys by name as we had now spent some time with them outside of hockey. Game 2 was a 2-2 tie. After this game we all met at Boston Pizza for lunch and more bonding. The boys all sat at a long table together and since they were all 12 they received the kids menus. However after being served these portions and having just played hockey, they were still hungry. Easton ordered a second kids meal. He had the burger kids meal and then the chicken tender kids meal. There was a lot of laughter at that table. It was also nice to enjoy a meal with the parents and get to know who I was with in the stands every week.
Right before Easton's next game we came to the rink early to be able to catch another one of Jayden's games. Sadly this was a 4-1 loss but we did manage to meet up with Jason, Beckett and then eventually Jayden after his game. While we went to Easton's next game, they headed off to do some team bonding.
Game 3 was a great game with an intense comeback to tie it 4-4. The boys wanted to win this game and the tie felt like a win. They played so hard. They were tied for first by wins in their pool but had one more goal against them. So it put them in second. So the next game had the two first place teams playing against each other and then the two second place teams playing against each other and so on. So we went on to play the other second place team from the other pool. Sadly we lost 3-0 putting us fourth in the tournament, but I am so proud of these boys. They played their hearts out and for Easton's first tournament he came in 4th overall. To note, the goalie on the other team only let in three goals all tournament so my guess is they just missed the first place standing in their pool as well. The games were so fun to watch with lots of intensity. Brian was on the bench guiding them as Hadley and I watched from the stands. It was lovely to see them together on the ice after the game.
Then...sometimes I guess you need just a little more hockey after a tournament, so we went back to our home rink to play a playoff game for our regular house league team. The boys were exhausted and were down 2-0 early but celebrated their 4-4 tie "victory" with sparkling juice in the dressing room. This tie felt like a win!
What an amazing weekend. Maybe our next tournament will have a hotel stay? This time we were close enough to home that everyone just went home in between. What will that be like?
The next day was Family day and it was so nice to just chill for the day. We did take the kids out to see Qauntumania - Ant Man and the Wasp for their first in theatre movie since before the pandemic. What a fun way to end off the very full weekend.