Young fans get a chance to Skate with the Kings

Jacks beat Norfolk, after slow start

The Wellesley Applejacks scored three unanswered goals in the second period en route to a 5-2 win over the Norfolk Rebels during action at the Wellesley arena Dec. 10.
After a lackluster first period that would end with neither team scoring, the Jacks came out flying after the first intermission, taking it to the Rebels who seemed sluggish returning to the ice after 20 minutes of play.

Wellesley defenceman Geoff Parr got things rolling with his team shorthanded – James Mildon was in the penalty box for hooking – when he received a quick pass from Shawn Fitzpatrick and fired a one-timer above the right shoulder of Norfolk goalie Jeff Stillman.
A minute and half later the Jacks were once again in the Rebels’ end when Parr found Blair Witmer alone in front of the net. Witmer made no mistake, chipping the puck over the glove of Stillman to give his team a 2-0 lead.

To finish off the second frame the Jacks, who had been defending vigorously for the remainder of the period, were given a powerplay after the Rebels’ Matt Vansickle was called for interference. That led to Tyler Eckert, Mark Detzier and Brent Vickers combing to give the home side three heading back to the room.

Perhaps a little too comfortable up 3-0, the Jacks got a rude awakening in the third period when Norfolk’s Steve Parker broke out during a play in his own end and headed down the ice, beating goaltender Josh Heer to put the Rebels on the scoreboard.

Connor McLeod would reply for the Jacks a short time later after receiving a beautiful pass from Eckert just inside the blue line and firing a wrist shot high right that beat Stillman.
A minute after taking a 4-1 lead the Jacks were given a penalty when Josh Herd was called for cross checking. The 5-on-4 Rebel advantage was too much for the defending Jacks, as Rebel Matt Vansickle slipped the puck low across the ice and squeezing it in between the post and Heer’s glove.

The Jacks quickly recomposed themselves and with less than three minutes on the clock Parr picked up the puck at centre ice and make his way through the Rebel defence, sliding it to Eckert who was waiting patiently to the left of the goal to cash number 5.

The Rebels continued to push but where unable to score again in the remaining minutes of the game.

Heer stopped 25 of 27 shots for the win.

Head coach Kevin Fitzpatrick was pleased that his team pulled off a win after a hard loss to the first-place Delhi Travellers last weekend. The win moved Wellesley into third place in the McConnell Conference.

“We still have to start playing a lot better than we did,” said Fitzpatrick referring to the fact that the team had a slow start in the first period.

“We made some nice plays during the game but we should never have let (Norfolk) score that second goal. That penalty cost us a goal but any win is a good win. We had some players that really held us together including Parr who a terrific game and Heer who was been solid in net for us all season.”

The Jacks play two at home this weekend, starting Friday night against the Hagersville Hawks and then on Saturday versus the Tavistock Braves. Both games begin at 7:30 p.m.

Jacks split a pair of close matches

Last weekend presented the Wellesley Applejacks with a couple of goaltender duels, and they managed to beat the Ayr Centennials 2-1 on their home ice on Dec. 2 but fell 3-1 to the first-place Delhi Travellers last Sunday night at home.

The head coach said he was pleased with their effort against Ayr, but added that the team just couldn’t make it click against Delhi, who improved to 3-1-0 against Wellesley this year.

“We played a real strong road game against Ayr on Friday, but give Delhi credit, they’re first in this league for a reason and they’re a real good team,” Kevin Fitzpatrick said of the team’s collective effort over the weekend.

“Both games had a real playoff atmosphere to them.”

The game in Ayr was a close-checking affair, with neither team finding the back of the net in the first period, each registering eight shots on goal.

In the second, Ayr’s Tyler Gauthier beat Jacks goaltender Josh Heer at 7:41 to give the home team a 1-0 lead, but Jacks captain Rob Hinschberger got that one back just over seven minutes later on the powerplay from Mark Hamilton and Mitch Metzger at 14:51 to take the teams into the second intermission tied.

In the third, Reid Denstedt of the Jacks collected his fifth of the season at 6:18 from Tyler Eckert and Spencer Geoffrey, and that was all his team would need as Heer made 37 saves to preserve the win for the Jacks.

Two nights later Wellesley returned home to test their mettle against the first-place team from Dehli.

In the first period Delhi struck early with a goal from Corbit Morrison at 2:17. The Jacks lost the faceoff to the right of Heer, and two Delhi players ended up all alone in front and Morrison squeaked a shot through the pads of the Jacks goaltender.

Delhi had a chance to go up 2-0 with a prolonged 5-on-3 powerplay at 17:15 of the first, but Wellesley’s penalty killers did a good job of keeping the Delhi forwards to the outside, and Heer kicked aside any shots that made it through.

The Jacks best chance of the period came on a shorthanded rush at 17:50, when Connor McLeod broke in alone on goal. His initial shot was stopped by Delhi’s goalie Nick Heath, and Wellesley’s Matt Soveregn put the rebound over the net.

Soveregn would make amends for that miss just 6:50 into the second period, however, when he calmly finished off a 3-on-2 rush with linemates McLeod and Eckert by firing a nice pass from McLeod into the top corner, glove side.

The game was poised to head into the third tied at two goals apiece, but late in the period the Jacks were their own worst enemies. After a giveaway by Blair Witmer about halfway into the Delhi zone, followed by a bad pinch by defenseman James Mildon, Delhi broke away with a 2-on-1 rush and put the puck past Heer with just eight seconds left on the clock.

It was enough to send Fitzpatrick from the bench and into the dressing room early in a fit of anger.

“We made about three straight mistakes on that play,” he said.

“We had a line out there thinking they would try and score with a dozen seconds left, when all they had to do was chip it into the corner.”

In the third period, the Jacks mustered as much offence as they could against Delhi, but couldn’t come close to beating Heath again, who was strong all night and finished with 24 saves. Delhi tallied an empty-net goal at 19:51 to seal the deal.
Heer was again excellent in goal for the Jacks, making 40 saves in the loss.

“He is outstanding and gives us a chance to win every game,” said Fitzpatrick of his goaltender. “He’s been a big addition to our club.”

The Jacks look to get back in the win column when they open a three-game home stand tonight (Saturday) against the last-place Norfolk Rebels (1-16-2) at 7:30 p.m. Look for plenty of goals because the last time these two teams met Wellesley got the edge by a score of 10-7.

Medalist encourages local synchro team

It is not everyday an Olympic medalist walks through the doors at the Waterloo Regional Synchronized Swim Club in Elmira, but last week some 50 members were treated to a talk by silver medalist Lisa Alexander as she told them her story of success and gave them some advice in dealing with the sport they love.

Alexander spent the afternoon with the provincial and national level swimmers and told them stories about her days as a club level swimmer and her 12 years on the Canadian national synchro team.

Competing for Canada, Alexander received a silver medal in the synchronized team event at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. She also won a silver medal in duet with Erin Woodley at the 1995 Pan Am Games in Mar del Plata, Argentina and a bronze medal in duet with Kathy Glen at the 1991 World Aquatics Championships in Perth, Australia.

Alexander also lends her name to the largest synchro figure meet in the country, held annually in Ontario for both provincial and national level club athletes. Given that the Lisa Alexander Figure Meet is to be held Dec. 10-11 in Etobicoke, the timing of her visit was ideal, coinciding with the release of the figure draw for the competition. The girls were eager and motivated to get in the pool to perfect their skills.

“You don’t get to compete very much in synchro – it is not like hockey where they might compete too much. This sport takes a lot of skills and the majority of the time we are training, obtaining those skills, and we only have a few competitions to show off all the work that we have done,” Alexander told the girls poolside.

She said the girls should take note of how they feel during competitions and to pay attention to finding that performance level but also how they deal with nerves and what worked in and out of the water.

“You have to pay attention to what you are doing so when the next meet comes up you can really work on that by either calming yourself down, taking deep breaths, warming up a bit longer, or you may even have to hype yourself up a little more. You don’t get many chances to practice that, except at events,” she said.

The highlight for most of the swimmers was being able to see and hold Alexander’s Olympic silver medal, which was passed around during a question period.
Alexander told the girls that they have to make choices when it comes to this sport as not everyone will understand their commitment and they may even lose some friends over their love of synchronized swimming.

“I was lucky I had really good friends who would still include me despite the fact that I was not there all the time,” said Alexander. “You have to make an effort to keep friends, you have to call them to keep in touch; it is a little bit of work.”

Alexander reminded the girls that they were surrounded by friends in the club and told them she was still in contact with girls she swam with at the age of eight as that is the kind of bond that is built in the sport.

“I think the real secret is finding something that you love and really pursuing it to its fullest, which I think these girls have done,” said Alexander as she signed autographs for club members.

The Waterloo Regional Synchronizes Swim Club will be holding a holiday show on Dec. 18 featuring the competitive team. The event is open to the public.

Jacks making their way back up the standings

The Wellesley Applejacks continued their strong play last weekend, collecting three of a possible four points thanks to a 5-2 win in St. George last Saturday night and a 4-3 overtime loss in Burford the following evening.

Those points have allowed the Jacks to climb to fourth in the McConnell Conference standings, only four points behind Hagersville and St. George, both tied for first with 23 points.

“I guess all in all, yeah three out of four (points) isn’t bad,” said head coach Kevin Fitzpatrick, who expressed some disappointment in losing to Burford in overtime after leading 3-2 late into the third period.

Their 5-2 win over St. George was the team’s most complete effort in about three seasons, the coach added, indicating it was their strong yet disciplined play that made the difference.

The game was close for most of the match, as both teams were held off the score sheet throughout the first period. The Dukes opened the scoring at 8:03 of the second period from Pat Bates, but the Jacks’ Josh Herd tied it up at 18:37 on a feed from Blair Witmer.

In the third the Jacks really poured it on and exploded for four unanswered goals to put the game out of reach. Mitch Metzger tallied a powerplay marker just 1:05 into the third from Corey Way and Rob Hinschberger.

About four minutes later Wellesley slipped another puck past the Dukes keeper as Matt Soveregn scored the eventual game winner at 5:38 on the powerplay from Sean Malone and Connor McLeod.

Way made it 4-1 at 6:55 from Hinschberger and Metzger and Hinschberger iced the game at 18:11 from Way and Mark Hamilton.

Josh Heer was strong in goal, collecting 31 saves for the win.

The following night the team headed into Burford for a game against the always tough Bulldogs and the Jacks knew they were in for a hard game; Wellesley last travelled to Burford on Sept. 25 and needed overtime to seal a 3-2 win.

Once again both teams remained scoreless after the opening 20 minutes, but Way opened the scoring at 5:30 of the second from Jake Steenson.

Burford knotted the match up at 9:43, but Wellesley would score two unanswered goals just over a minute apart to take a 3-1 lead thanks to powerplay goals from Geoff Par at 14:28 (Metzger) and James Mildon at 15:49 (Malone, McLeod).

Burford tallied one more before the end of the period to make it 3-2, and then scored late at 15:46 of the third period to force overtime.

In that overtime period, the Jacks saw some bad luck and unlucky bounces end their winning streak at three games.

Wellesley managed to put the puck past Burford’s keeper Justin Garner in OT, but the goal was waved off after the referees determined Hinschberger had interfered with the keeper, even though Fitzpatrick said his captain was clearly pushed by the Burford defenceman after the goal was scored.

The game continued, and at the opposite end of the rink the Jacks blocked a Burford point shot which deflected off the board’s right onto the stick of the Bulldogs’ Kyle Chaney, who tapped in the easy winner at 4:29 of overtime.

Despite the overtime loss, the weekend continued Wellesley’s trend of playing well on the road. They own a 7-3-1 record away from Wellesley Arena, the best road record in the league.

Contrast that to their 2-3-0 record at home – the fewest home wins in the league.

“The biggest thing I think is when you’re on a bus you’re more focused than when they just come to the arena,” said Fitzpatrick of the team’s record.

“They need to come better prepared than they have been.”

The Jacks will get an opportunity to display that preparation tonight (Saturday) when they play host to first-place Hagersville at 7:30 p.m. in Wellesley.

Fans should keep an eye out for Jacks captain Rod Hinschberger, who has been one of the league’s best players since returning from injury last month. In only nine games this season he has seven goals and 20 points – including 12 points in his last four games.

“I made him captain last year and some people questioned that, but I knew he was going to be a good captain,” said Fitzpatrick.

“You can see the leadership he brings off and on the ice. He just brings it every game and never misses a shift.”

Harnock part of silver medal squad at Games

London is calling for the Canadian senior men’s and women’s wheelchair basketball teams as both squads qualified for the 2012 Paralympic games in London at the Parapan American Games held in Guadalajara, Mexico from Nov. 13-19.

The men advanced with a bronze medal finish, while the women – including Elmira’s Katie Harnock – qualified thanks to a silver medal performance. There were three Paralympic berths up for grabs for both the men and the women at the start of the tournament.

The Canadian women were nearly flawless en route to the gold medal showdown against the Americans, sporting a 4-0 record heading into the finals.

The Canadians fell short in the championship game, however, losing 69-31 to the top-ranked U.S. squad and earned a second straight silver medal after losing in the finals four years ago in Brazil.

“(The tournament) went reasonably well until the final game,” said Harnock over the phone from the University of Alabama, where she attends school.

“Unfortunately, against the U.S. we definitely didn’t play our best and they sure did. We’re usually a relatively close match with them and in that match we weren’t.”

Harnock finished with zero points and two assists in the final game while playing just over 25 minutes. Over the course of the tournament she finished tied for eighth with 15 assists and also collected 38 points.

While some might attribute their loss to the Americans to fatigue, Harnock said the team just didn’t perform well enough to take home the gold.

“We were all there for the same time, we were all eating the same food, and we were all staying in the same beds. They (the Americans) were really dialed in and I think it was a case of them catching us off guard in the first ten minutes and we were never able to catch up after that.”

Now that the team has qualified for next summer’s Paralympics, Harnock has turned her focus back to playing for her university squad but will have team Canada in the back of her mind; she must still qualify for the London-bound team, which comes up early in the new year.

“I’ll go home and see my family (over the holidays), but tryouts are right after that so I really can’t afford to take much time off. I’ll be doing lifting and working out at home to be ready to try and make the team.”

The national team coach praised Harnock’s poise on the court and said she was an important member of their squad in Guadalajara.

“Katie’s actually a pretty key player for us,” said Team Canada head coach Bill Johnson. “She’s an excellent offensive player. She scores a lot of points for us and is a pretty good transition player as well. She’s also a great passer and brings a little bit of veteran leadership.”

Once the team is selected the players will gather in Winnipeg in June to train leading up to the London games from Aug. 29 to Sept. 9, 2012.

If Harnock does make the Paralympic squad, it’ll be her second time representing her country at the games following a disappointing fifth-place finish in 2008 in Beijing. She has won gold at the World Championships in 2006 and now has a pair of silver medals from the Parapan Games, but is looking to add an Paralympic medal to her total.

“I don’t have a Paralympic medal – it’s the only one I don’t have yet – so I’m really looking forward to making the team and being part of things for the next couple of months.”

Scoring touch paces Jacks to pair of wins

Mitch Metzger and Corey Way notched a pair of goals each to lead the Wellesley Applejacks to a 5-4 home win over the Ayr Centennials Nov. 12. The Jacks continued their winning ways the following night on the road against Norfolk Rebels in a 10-7 decision.

The victories improved Wellesley to 8-6, keeping them in fourth place. The Centennials fell to 6-4-2, and Norfolk remains at the bottom of the McConnell Conference with a 1-12-2 record.

Metzger opened the scoring at 7:51 into the contest against Ayr, with Rob Hinschberger and Way collecting assists, but the Centennials would score three goals within five minutes to take the lead in the period. The Jacks cut that lead by one after Hinschberger found Metzger, who scored his second of the night beating Ayr goalie Jordan Witt with wrist shot high in the right corner during a power play, as Centennial’s Jay Fried was in the box on a roughing call.

The first period ended with Ayr up 3-2.

The Jacks regained momentum in the early stages of the second period when Way, Metzger and Hinschberger connected. Hinschberger found Metzger who fed Way, who placed it high glove over Witt at 7:50.

Ayr responded when Tyler Gauthier slipped the disc pass Jacks netminder Josh Heer to regain the lead at 12:16.

The Jacks quickly responded, with Way lighting the lamp with less than three minutes to play in the second period.

With the game tied 4-4 it was any team’s game for the taking entering the third.

It would be Wellesley captain Hinschberger that ensured his team’s advantage after the second intermission. When Centennials’ forward Andrew Tapsell was sent to the box for a roughing call, the towering center pinched in from the blueline with five minutes remaining, rifling home the eventual game-winner. James Mildon and Metzger contributed the assists.

On the road the following day the Jacks dominated the Rebels, scoring four unanswered goals in the first period that saw Spencer Aspden, Way, Blair Witmer and Hinschberger all add to their totals.

The second period started with a Rebel surge when Kalbe Ford beat Jacks goalie Jordan Bauman in the opening seconds. The Jacks would retaliate with a goal from Matt Soveregn at 1:12 only to have Norfolk score 28 seconds later when Steve Parker beat Bauman. Norfolk notched another goal during the period, but that was it as the Jacks poured it on to pot four more on their way to a 9-3 lead. The period was done, but not the scoring.

After the second intermission the Rebels made a strong return to the ice, scoring four more goals but not before Mark Hamilton would score the Jacks tenth goal of the night setting up the Wellesley victory.

“We did very well this past weekend and finally scored some goals and played great as a team, especially against Ayr,” said Jacks coach Kevin Fitzpatrick. “Sunday we started out strong and just fell asleep in the third period and we were lucky that Norfolk did not manage to tie the game up. We did let up a bit but we also hit a lot of goalposts that should have gone in and the boys need to connect better but they put in a solid effort and hopefully they will continue in this direction.

We had a few players, like Way, Hinschberger and Metzger that really stepped up and did a good job for us.”

The Jacks hit the road this weekend for back-to-back games starting on Saturday against the St.George Dukes before travelling to Burford Sunday to battle the Bulldogs.

International experience in the cards for local ringette players

This year will certainly be a Christmas to remember in the Nosal household.

Sisters Paige and Sam have been asked to join the Cambridge Turbos National Ringette League (NRL) team when they travel to Turku, Finland to defend their International Ringette Federation World Club Championship from Dec. 27 to Jan. 1, 2012.

Their father, Scott, will also accompany the team as an assistant coach.

Despite not playing in the NRL, the girls were asked to suit up the Cambridge squad given their strong play for their hometown St. Clements U19 Belle AA team, coached by their mother Terry as well as their father.

Paige, 17, was not eligible to be drafted into the NRL this year while her sister Paige, 18, could have entered the draft but opted instead to play her last year of ringette in St. Clements.

“Those two girls in particular are outstanding players, and both fit into the system very well and they both do everything we like in a player,” said Turbos head coach Glen Gaudet.

“They’re quick, they’re very strong checkers, they see the ice well, they’re selfless and they put the team first, so they fit right in. And Scott is invaluable on the bench.”

The girls fly out late Christmas Day to prepare for an exhibition game on Dec. 27 before the tournament gets under way on the 28th. They’re set to face three Finnish teams, a Swedish squad, and one other NRL team, the Richmond Hill Lightening.

The coach said the team should be ready, but admitted that there are a few challenges – in particular a couple of differences in rules between the two games. For example, in Finland the teams play 60-minute games, while in Canada they only play 40-minute games.

As a compromise the tournament will be played out using 48-minute games divided into four quarters, which the coach said it could prove challenging for the players, particularly in the dying minutes of a game.

“It means a lot, those last eight minutes,” he said.

As for the Nosal sisters, they couldn’t think of a better Christmas gift than to travel to Finland and compete in the sport they’ve played for 13 years against some of the best players in the world, but they also admit to having some nerves.

“I’ve heard they’re really fast,” said Sam.

“Our team is fast too and in order to play elite ringette you have to be fast. It’s a completely new level of ringette, but at the same time I’m excited and ready to get out there.”

As for Paige, who is the youngest girl on the team, she said that the unfamiliarity that comes with facing teams they’ve never played before will be the biggest challenge for her.

“We’ve grown up playing against the same people all our lives, and we’re jumping up now to another level. That always creates a little anxiety, but it’s exciting at the same time.”

As affiliated players, the girls are eligible to play in up to seven regular season games with the Turbos, but not the playoffs. Paige, who has shuffled between forward and defence, has played for the team twice this season and collected one assist while Sam, who plays forward, has played three games and scored three goals and six assists.

They also practice for an hour every week with the team, on top of the four or more hours of ice time they get with their St. Clements teammates. They also have some experience playing at a high level of ringette, both representing the Team Ontario U19 squad at the Canada Winter Games in Halifax last year after capturing the provincial title in March.

The girls also believe playing on the same team can give them an edge over their competition.

“I think you feed off it and you’re more familiar with them, so I think it’ll work to our advantage,” said Sam.

Senior football squad falls in quarterfinals

Despite a blowout loss Nov. 3 during their Waterloo County A division quarterfinal playoff game, the Elmira District Secondary School (EDSS) senior football team had its best season ever.

EDSS would lose 48-2 against Sir John A Macdonald (SJAM) last week, but head coach Steve Karn was very pleased with how the team performed overall this year.

“We had a lot of firsts this season,” said Karn. “We moved up to the A division playoffs, which was the first time we had ever done that, and the team ended up with the best record the school has ever seen.”

The team won four games in a row, which they had never accomplished before. And they beat the perennial powerhouse Cameron Heights for the first time ever this season.

The Lancers ended their B division season with a 5-2 record, good enough for a three-way tie for first place. After the WCSAA tiebreaking procedures, the team found itself in second place overall.

The Lancers will be advancing to the A division next year. At the end of each season, points are added up for both the senior and junior teams, with the top three teams in B go up to A while the bottom three teams in A drop to B.

Karn said he was pleased with the way the team came together this season and contributed to the year’s success. He praised the team as a whole, but noted that some players had an outstanding season, including receiver Ted Sebben and running back Sab Huber, a Grade 11 student who still has two more years with the team.

“We may have lost badly against SJAM in our quarterfinal game, but they were the second place team in the A division; they took it to us pretty good. SJAM were used to playing A-caliber teams all season and they tend to be a little better to begin with, but the boys were happy to be where they were. They pulled off a successful season and everyone worked hard – what they accomplished this season was pretty amazing,” said Karn.

The team is already looking towards next season and is hoping to build on the recent successes.

Although as with any team some key players will be graduating this year and the coaching staff will be looking at the junior team to fill some key positions.

“We know this happens every year. We had a good junior squad this season and hope to continue our success next year.”

Jacks continue skid after a quick start

The Wellesley Applejacks took it on the chin pretty good last weekend.

The idea is that the squad will learn something from it.

They can’t undo it, but head coach Kevin Fitzpatrick and the rest of the coaching staff hope the squad will learn something from the experience after losing at home to the Delhi Travellers.

Having opened the season with five straight wins, the Jacks now sit in sixth place, winning only one of the last seven games.

Wellesley came out strong against the Travellers, scoring two minutes into the first period when Corey Way found Mitch Metzger, who slipped the rubber past Delhi netminder Nick Heath.

A second goal for the Jacks would come from a Mark Detzier and Connor McLeod combination.

Down by two, the Travellers rebounded and took control of the period, scoring a pair of goals two minutes apart to tie the game 2-2 after 20 minutes.

The second period saw the teams exchange two more goals. Delhi got things rolling at 7:20 with a shot from just inside the blue line by Jake Legein that beat Jacks’ goaltender Jordan Bauman.

Wellesley would answer two minutes later when Kevin Howorth fired a wrist shot above the right shoulder of Delhi’s keeper, with James Mildon and Blair Witmer claiming assists.

During a penalty that saw Delhi with the man advantage, the Jacks would give up the fourth goal of the evening to Travellers’ forward Harrison McRobert, who beat Bauman during a scramble in front of the Jacks’ net at 16:48.

With less than two minutes remaining in the period, Wellesley evened up the score at 4-4 when Howorth  fed Way who fired a shot hard along the ice that eluded Heath.

The third period saw some strong defensive plays by both teams, but at 11:55 the Travellers would seal the game when forward Travis Harper put one behind Bauman. Final score: 5-4 in favour of Delhi.

Heath finished the night with 31 saves on 35 shots for the win, while Jacks netminder Bauman would save 42 of 47.

“We played a very inconsistent game of hockey. We started off well but the penalties were what did us in,” said Fitzpatrick. “We missed a lot of wide open nets and hit the post too many times.

We could have very easily won that game and should have won that game.”

Fitzpatrick said his team needs to come out and play a full 60 minutes of hockey, adding that when they get a lead they can’t sit back but must continue to work.

“Delhi is a very good hockey team and if you give them an opportunity to get back into the game they are going to take it; all of a sudden the third period is a battle, which it never should have been.”

The coaching team plans to make a few changes in practice this week and mix up the line combinations to see if the Jacks will form a tighter group on the ice.

“Once we had a two-point lead the boys got it into their heads that is was going to be an easy game, but they have to start to understand there are no easy games in this league and there are no easy points: it doesn’t matter what team we face,” said Fitzpatrick. “We have a few players that have never played Junior hockey before and they have to come into the rink better prepared, as we come to win.”

The Jacks next game is against the Ayr Centennials at home tonight (Saturday). Game time is 7:30 p.m.