It almost the exact time there was an epic battle between countries for the gold medal in hockey in Vancouver B.C., there was a similar battle taking place in Apex, NC. The similarties were eerily similar. 2 rival teams, hand picked, one team the underdog, stellar goaltending, and an overtime gold medal game. I am referring to the Coastal Cup tournament that Owen was in. He was hand picked at the last minute with a group of other boys that had never played together to round out the number of teams in the tournament. They had one practice on Friday and played five games on Sunday to take 1st place in the tournament. Every game they played, they continued to gel together and play great as a team. To make things even more exciting, they played the other Apex travel team in the final game. 4 of the boys on the other team are on Owen’s regular house team, so there was some fierce competition (among the players and the fans). The championship game was a nail biter. We had a 2 goal lead with 30 seconds to go in regulation. But, with an empty net, the opposition put on strong pressure and scored 2 goals to tie, the tying goal came with 5.5 seconds left. Overtime was nothing short of fantastic. Back and forth, the goalies came up huge, but 7 minutes into the overtime we were able to get one by their net minder for the win. The crowd erupted and the players piled on there goalie. It was reminiscent of the Miracle on Ice. Owen had a really strong tournament. He played defense most of the game. He was really solid, stopping many chances. He also netted 1 goal and a couple of assists.
His brother is not far behind. In the house game the day before, Justin was the player of the game. Although he did not have any goals, he was all over. His work ethic was second to none, using his skill, speed and his body. He is playing great and has improved a ton. It was a busy weekend full of hockey, we had a practice and 6 games before it was all said and done.
‘Til next time…
