With heart-felt apologies to English teachers everywhere--spring has sprung, the grass has riz...and we all want to know where our Ravens is!
The Campbell River Windsor Plywood Bantam Ravens have started the 2012 season off with two key games.
On Sunday April 15 the team travelled to Port Alberni for the first game of the season. After several practices at the outdoor lacrosse box, Raven players ran the floor like there was no tomorrow. Port Alberni had played and lost the day before so they came out with reckless abandon which made for a very exciting game. Port Alberni was led by two offensive dynamos who ultimately accounted for all of their goals while the Ravens put forward a relatively balanced attack.
Port Alberni opened the scoring with a wicked shot that goalie Thomas Dunn almost stopped. They scored again quickly after that for a 2-0 lead but the Ravens showed that they’re not going to go quietly into the season as they started to work on their motion offence, moving and supporting the ball just like they do in practice. Hard work creates its’ own good fortune as Reilly Doney demonstrated on the Ravens first goal of the season, bringing the score to 2-1. Both teams added a pair of goals each with the first period ending 4-3 in favour of Port Alberni.
During the break, head coach Todd Fair and assistant coach Ken Doney reviewed proper checking technique. This helped revitalize the Ravens more than a red beverage ever could and they returned for the second period full of vim and vigour. Teams traded chances with the Ravens scoring one goal more than Port Alberni to end the second tied at 7.
After a brief respite, Port Alberni sensed they had the Ravens on the ropes and opened the third period with a flurry of counter-attacks and late changes to spring open players on breakaways. They scored three goals in relatively quick succession before the Ravens started to pick up the open man and look to the opposing bench for late changes.
While employing strong defence, the Ravens began to make the most of their offensive chances. Connor Ludvigson scored on a shot-clock buzzer-beater, assisted by Nolan Fair; score 10-8 in favour of Port Alberni. The Ravens have a bit of magic between the two Nolans as demonstrated when Nolan Fair passed to Nolan Morrison for the ninth Ravens goal. The comeback continued with Doney scoring the tying goal after a nice assist from Dawson Brown with less than two minutes left in the game.
This might have been the first loss of the season if it wasn’t for the efforts of Ross Rickman. With seconds remaining on the scoreboard, one of the Port Alberni scoring machines had the ball at mid-court, bringing it up and intent on breaking the deadlock. Rickman gave away quite a bit in height and weight but nothing in terms of effort and desire. He used his body and proper technique to angle the ball-carrier as best he could and then ensured the other player couldn’t get off a quality shot, thus preserving the well-earned tie.
Sunday April 22 had the Ravens playing at home against Cowichan Valley (CV). The final score was 11-7 in favour of the Ravens.
The Windsor Plywood Bantam Ravens play a double-header against Peninsula 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday at Rod Brind’Amour Arena.