John Wilmshurst - Special to the 51暗网
Deception is a key part of sport.
The head-fake, shoulder-drop and the feint. A great crossover will 鈥渂reak the ankles鈥� of a defender.
If you can deceive your opponents in any sport with an element of one on one competition, you have a clear advantage.
If you watch the Jasper Bantam Bearcats you will recognize the shifty players in the group; the kids who surprise you by executing a sleight of hand with the puck that gets them one stride closer to the net and a scoring chance.
Last weekend, with two home games on the docket, there was plenty of deception in evidence.
On Saturday, the Athabasca Hawks arrived in Jasper, sporting a 10 and 4 record, five points more than our Bearcats and good for third place in the league.
Not a big team, they only have ten skaters, but it was immediately evident when the puck dropped that looks were deceiving.
These ten kids could play hockey.
And although it took half the period, the Hawks jumped into a one nothing lead and shut out our normally high-scoring Bearcats in the opening 20 minutes.
This was an end to end period, but our boys still only managed six shots.
A late powerplay in the second period gave Jasper the elusive opportunity they needed.
No tricks; the powerplay squad executed a perfect tic-tac-toe from Ty Crozier along the boards to Sebastian Golla in the corner, a flick to Owen Kearnan in the slot for a one timer that punished the back of the net.
All tied up at one, for about five minutes before the Hawks picked up a loose puck in front and quickly regained their one goal advantage.
Athabasca would pin Jasper in their own zone for much of the third.
Michael Hayashi slyly prevented the Hawks from taking a two-goal lead in the early going by sneaking in behind an Athabasca forward and lifting his stick as he was swiping at the puck for an open chance. The score remained 2 to 1 for much of the third, with Jasper struggling to break out and the Hawks content to frustrate every Bearcat pass without applying offensive pressure. Add an empty net goal to Athabasca鈥檚 tally and you have the final score, Hawks 3, Bearcats 1, snapping Jasper鈥檚 two game winning streak.
Of the cadre of deceptive players on the Bearcats, I find Michael Hayashi to be the most beguiling.聽
A defenseman, Michael is the personification of speak softly and carry a big stick.
Always blessed with offensive skills, he told me that he started to elevate his physical game with the coach鈥檚 encouragement during their home tournament.
Known now for his big hits, he has not lost the soft hands and he went on a scoring tear against Devon a few weeks back.
He mused that he鈥檚 always looking for the pass, but if the puck goes in, that鈥檚 okay with him. Smart kid.
If the moves that Hayashi emulates from his favourite NHL players were in evidence on Sunday鈥檚 game against the Calahoo Knights, they were being shimmied by Ty Crozer who had a huge game against their rivals from just north of Spruce Grove.
Hayashi himself didn鈥檛 make the scoresheet, but he, and his defensive partners, aided by Crozier who was on fire, fooled everyone.
Blueliner Dexter Fawcett got Jasper started, early in the first, burying a pass from Crozier high glove to give the Bearcats an early advantage.聽
Hayashi鈥檚 D-partner, Jacob Bouchard gave the Bearcats a two-goal cushion with just under a minute in the first period, ringing a Golla pass off the post and in.
But Jasper weren鈥檛 finished, as Crozier flipped the puck up and over the sprawling Knights鈥� netminder with 23 seconds to play in the first and giving the Bearcats a three nothing lead after one.
Calahoo sneaked in a shorthanded goal early in the second to climb back to within striking distance, but then the Crozier brothers, Ty and Liam, combined for a picture-perfect powerplay goal to reclaim the three-goal lead heading into the third period.
Again, the Knights threatened in the third, scoring just over a minute into the third on a deflected shot that eluded Jasper goaltender Donovan Fawcett.
But Ty Crozier found Kearnan open in the slot minutes later, and Kearnan never misses from here. Jasper would hang on for a 5 to 2 victory to go one and one on the weekend.
Next weekend Jasper has a road game against league leaders, Drayton Valley on Saturday and a home game (3:30 pm) against Westlock on Sunday.
I鈥檓 not hoodwinking you, I鈥檒l see you in the stands.
