“You never want to take anything for granted out there." -------Tyler Leaman
We set the scene at Willie O’Ree, November 25th, the Leo Hayes boys hockey team playing against Oromocto High School. As the score read 3-1, a reporter for The Mane, Hannah Adamson, took her seat in the stands. This is what followed.
Caleb Bennett (#16) made his first goal and brought the score to 4-1, many people getting shoved, tripped, and flipped off in the process.
Yelling and cheering surrounded the ice as the second period began. Kroon (#7) was the fifth to score. And the cheering got louder still as Leo made another goal, scored by Jacobson (#9) and A. Bennet (#5), putting the game at 6-1 for the lions.
Around three minutes later, the Lions made yet another goal straight from the face off.
Harvey (#12) slid across the ice – practically isolated – making a great goal with no assists and pulling the team up to 8 points. The boys started to trip each other, getting more and more aggressive, and frustrated, as they banged around the corners of the rink.
Period two ended 8-1, and the team went into a 7 second play, but OHS missed their chance at a goal.
Two minutes before the final period, the boys seemed excited to get back on the ice and play. They pounded their fists against the boards and banged their sticks against the floor as Jacobson and Leaman assisted Matt Agar (#11) in making his first goal in two years and bringing the score up another point! Congratulations, Matt!
The game ended 9-1 for the Lions. They wiped the floor just like those Zambonis!
I had the chance to talk to the captain Tyler Leaman (#23) after the game. He explained how Matt scoring his first goal was the highlight for him. During the last couple minutes, the team was excited, but even though they had been in the lead for most of the game, they were very cautious.
“You never want to take anything for granted out there, so you know, play hard the whole game.” Great words of advice, for not only hockey players, but us watchers too.
I caught word that Banks (#21) and C. Bennett (#16) made their first scores of the season during this game as well.
And that, dear readers, is how Leo Hayes beat OHS 9-1 last Thursday. Great job out there, Lions!