POWNAL TAKES THE BULL BY THE HORNS IN DIEPPE NEW BRUNSWICK

The Red Devils took the Dieppe-Memramcook Atom and PeeWee tournament by surprise showing much grit and determination.  “Where did this team come from,” remarked more than one Pownal fan.  “We want this team in PEI”.  “The boys came out fighting”, said Coach Cory.  “The skating in the first game was very fast.  I thought can we hold the tempo for two more periods”.  And tempo they held.  Caleb Drake got the start to this 41^st tournament and showed more than one acrobatic move to stop the KV Sabres and keep the Devils in the game.  Pownal fans rewarded Caleb with the “hard working” player of the game although the fans had a challenge selecting as every member of the team played well and with heart. 
 
Caleb was well served by his defencemen.   Very little managed to make it by the Pownal defense this weekend.  In what seemed like a very long 36 minute first game, Pownal came out with a 4-4 draw.  Cole McKeigan meant business scoring within the first 13 seconds of the first period on an assist from Holden Bradley.  The KV Sabres came back with their first shortly after only to have Pownal take the lead once again with a goal from Luca Le Clair unassisted.  The second period opened with a 2-1 Pownal lead.  KV scored after 3 minutes of play to tie it up.  Less than two minutes later Pownal grabbed the lead again with a goal from Carson Lund assisted by Drew MacPhee and Lance Kennedy.  Once again, Pownal went into the third period leading KV 3-2.  Half way into the final period, KV tied it up after six minutes of end to end action.  The heat was on and not just on the ice as one Pownal fan commenced to remove layers of clothing in the stands claiming “it’s too hot in here”!  With 3:50 left in the third, KV took the lead for the first time in the game.  But the mighty or the “pesky” Devils battled hard around the boards which paid off with a goal in the last two minutes of play. Seth MacLeod fired one from the blue line to tie the game 4-4.  “We went out to win and have fun,” commented the excited boys as they lunched at Montana’s.  “We played really well, probably the best all year”, chanted the boys as they celebrated Pownal fan Tonya Gray’s 25th birthday with lots of cheer!
 
Day two proved to be just as exciting.  Game two opened against the Saint John Flames.  This time it would be the opposing team to light the board first scoring within the first 30 seconds of the first period.  Fans worried that this would hurt the momentum built up from the previous day, but the Red Devils continued to impress.  Two minutes later, Sam Parsons put the fears away scoring off an assist from Luca Le Clair.  Carson Gray stood his ground in between the pipes providing solid goaltending for the Devils once again.  Defencemen Lea, Arsenault, MacDonald, Pitre and MacLeod once again helped their goalie by breaking up plays and blocking shots as the Red Devils ended the first in a 1-1 tie. 
 
Period two started off with the birthday boy, Holden Bradley giving Pownal the lead on a power play.  His sister Harlee was happy for her twin brother to celebrate their big day with a goal.  Line mates Cole McKeigan and Simon Hughes assisted on the goal.  Saint John fought back tying the game once again at 2-2.  The second period did not end without another Pownal goal at the six minute mark.   Set up by Carson Lund, Drew MacPhee gave the Devils a 3-2 lead.  Sniffing the potential win, Pownal fought hard in the third. An early goal at the start tied the game up once again. End to end action kept the fans on their feet as both goalies kept their teams in the game.  Needing the win, Saint John pulled their goalie but Pownal’s forwards helped out the defense to protect the tie and take one point going into the final game with a  3-3 tie.  “It is a challenge to pick the player of the game once again,” said Chris MacPhee who was delegated the task of polling the Pownal fans to select the most hard working player.  “A good challenge though,” he added with a smile as Holden Bradley received that honour.  “The boys have given us six competitive periods,” commented coaches Cory and Joey.  “We need three more good periods to have a chance to make the crossovers”. 
 
It all boiled down to the third and final game for the Red Devils and their rivals, the Summerside Capitals. The air was tense at the Centennaire arena.  The fans were loud and the boys were excited. The Caps opened the scoring eight seconds into the first. But the Devils calmed the nerves and got back into the zone.  For two periods the score remained 1-0 for the Caps. Caps marked the scoreboard again half way through the third period to take a 2-0 lead.  But the Red Devils did not give up.  Sam Parsons scored Pownal’s goal with four minutes left in the period. Landon MacDonald assisted on the goal.  The last few minutes of the third were dominated by the Red Devils who were buzzing for a short-handed goal. The game came to an end with Summerside winning 2-1.  “Boys should be very proud with their performance this weekend,” commented Cory. “They played nine competitive periods.  That’s all we can ask for”.  “What a treat to watch this team this weekend”, remarked a number of parents.  Cole McKeigan received the player of the game recognizing his hard work and the number of bumps and bruises he received to draw a number of penalties.  Pownal’s successful weekend was topped off with a pizza dinner and surprise birthday cakes for Holden, Harlee and parent fan Cathy McKeigan who will celebrate her 25^th as well!  Red Devil fans were relieved to see their manager released from detention after a brief interrogation from the RCMP officer who was tipped off by the head coach himself!
 
The Red Devils will commence the week hosting the Mid-Isle Matrix on January 28th and the start of the SPUD tournament January 30th.  Let’s hope the Pownal team from Dieppe has come back to the Island!