Goaltending is key for Minor Midget Cougars
Posted By JEFF GARD
Posted 1 year ago
Cobourg Behan Construction minor midget Jr. Cougars goaltender Jake Wakely doesn't score goals, but he has one as he hopes to backstop his club to a big victory.
"Keep the confidence (of the team) up is my biggest goal," said Wakely, who is the Cougars' only netminder.
Cobourg is one of 12 teams that will compete in the Cobourg Cougars Junior A-sponsored Minor Midget 'A' Division at the Cobourg Regional Silver Stick from Saturday to Monday.
"I'm raring to go. (Playing) every game, I love it."
What makes Wakely want to work even harder is the confidence that he has in his teammates.
"(They) work hard and clear the guys out in front of the net," Wakely said.
Also competing in the Silver Stick regional qualifier are: the Belleville Jr. Bulls, Huntsville Otters and Embrun- Casselman joining the Cougars in Pool 1; the Quinte West Hawks, Ottawa Sting, Loyalist Jets and Centre Wellington in Pool 2 and Whitby Wildcats, Port Perry Predators, Nepean Raiders and Osgoode- Richmond in Pool 3.
The top three teams from each pool, as well as one wild card team, will advance to semifinal games.
Games are played at Cobourg -- Memorial (Pad 1) and Jack Heenan (Pad 2) -- and Baltimore arenas.
Winners of each age division at the Cobourg regional qualifier will advance to next month's International Silver Stick Finals.
Cobourg forward Todd O'Rourke, who missed several games recently with an injury, had the chance to get a different perspective on his club.
"You really notice the things that we're doing wrong, like the things (the coaches) mention on the bench that you don't really notice when you're in the game. You kind of see what they see," O'Rourke said.
"You have to realize that they're (pointing things out) to try to help you improve your game. You understand what they're saying."
One of the most important things is playing a full 45-minute game because "if you lay off for a period, and you lose the game, that could affect how you end up in the standings."
O'Rourke also noticed what his teammates are doing well, such as working hard together to score goals.
"We're getting garbage goals instead of the pretty ones, but they all count," he said.
Head coach Tony Wakely said that while there are just 13 players on the minor midget squad, their commitment to the team is what has made them successful. They are currently second in the Ontario Minor Hockey Association Lakeshore League standings with a 16-7-1 record.
"They come to every game and every practice. They work hard. There's a chemistry this year that I don't think existed in the past with this group as well," coach Wakely said. "Having said that, they're coming and having a lot of fun, which I think is important as well."
There is more midget hockey scheduled this year as six teams -- the Georgina Blaze, Peterborough Nationals, Toronto Royals, Ajax Knights, Ottawa Silver Seven and the Etobicoke Canucks -- will compete for the McDonald's 'AA' championship.
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Minor Midget 'A' Schedule
Saturday
1 p. m., Cobourg vs Belleville, Jack Heenan Arena
2:30 p. m., Whitby vs Port Perry, Jack Heenan
Arena
4 p. m., Quinte West vs Centre Wellington, Jack
Heenan Arena
5: 30 p. m., Huntsville vs Embrun-Casselman,
Jack Heenan Arena
7 p. m., Nepean vs Osgoode-Richmond, Jack
Heenan Arena
8:30 p. m., Ottawa vs Loyalist, Jack Heenan
Arena
Sunday
8 a. m., Cobourg vs Huntsville, Baltimore Arena
9: 30 a. m., Belleville vs Embrun-Casselman, Baltimore Arena
11 a. m., Ottawa vs Quinte West, Baltimore Arena
12:30 p. m., Loyalist vs Centre Wellington, Baltimore Arena
1 p. m. , Cobourg vs Embrun-Casselman, Memorial Arena
2 p. m., Whitby vs Nepean, Baltimore Arena
2:30 p. m., Huntsville vs Belleville, Memorial Arena
3: 30 p. m., Port Perry vs Osgoode-Richmond,
Baltimore Arena
4 p. m., Quinte West vs Loyalist, Memorial Arena
5:30 p. m., Centre Wellington vs Ottawa, Memorial Arena
7 p. m., Osgoode-Richmond vs Whitby, Memorial
Arena
8:30 p. m., Port Perry vs Nepean, Memorial
Arena
Monday 8:30 a. m., semifinal game, Jack Heenan Arena 9 a. m., semifinal game, Memorial Arena 6 p. m., championship game, Memorial Arena
Minor Midget 'AA' Schedule
Saturday 8:30 a. m., Ajax vs Peterborough, Jack Heenan
Arena
10 a. m., Toronto vs Etobicoke, Jack Heenan
Arena
11:30 a. m., Georgina vs Ottawa Valley, Jack
Heenan Arena
4:30 p. m., Etobicoke vs Georgina, Baltimore
Arena
6 p. m., Peterborough vs Toronto, Baltimore
Arena
7:30 p. m., Ottawa Valley vs Ajax, Baltimore
Arena
Sunday
8 a. m., Peterborough vs Georgina, Memorial Arena
10 a. m., Ottawa Valley vs Toronto, Memorial Arena
11:30 a. m., Etobicoke vs Ajax, Memorial Arena Monday
10 a. m., semifinal game -2nd vs 3rd in pool, Jack Heenan Arena
10:30 a. m., semifinal game -1st vs 4th in pool, Memorial Arena
4:15 p. m., championship game, Memorial Arena
