It was a day when the Wolverines relied heavily on their “BB” weapon.
With passes going astray, shots being misdirected and players being caught out of position, the Barrhead Bantam 2 side struggled initially to keep pace with the Sturgeon Mustangs at the Agrena on Sunday, Dec. 22
Fortunately, goaltender Blake Busch – known by head coach Floyd McKeever as “BB” – was having the game of his young life.
He was getting down to shots that once would have eluded him, proving a rock that Sturgeon found mighty hard to dislodge. Although they succeeded five times, nobody could fault Busch. Without his heroics, Sturgeon would have won the game by the middle of the second period.
As it was, the Wolverines had time to regroup to tie the game 5-5, with Erin Dewsnap plundering a hat-trick and Kurtis Properzi and Osbaldo Eriberto Maquez Barrios also finding the target.
The result left McKeever singing the praises of Blake Busch.
“A real big compliment goes to our goaltender today,” he said. “This was his best game of the season. He played spectacularly.”
Not so long ago Blake was playing in the fun league. Then he got the call to join the Wolverines.
Naturally it was a tough baptism, but with patient, careful coaching he has improved, literally in leaps and bounds.
“He’s turning out to be an amazing goalie,” enthused McKeever. “If he keeps this up, I see him playing ‘A’ hockey one day.”
“Goaltender is one of the most important position on the team,” he added. “At the moment BB is rocking it.”
In fact, had “BB” begun the season playing at this level, it is likely the Wolverines’ win-loss record would look a lot better than it does now.
McKeever believes the game against Sturgeon had been very winnable.
For some reason, however, the Wolverines were slow to get going and by the second period were trailing 1-3.
“We were missing some passes and falling out of position, but as the game went on the players really pulled their heads up and got some good passing and created chances,” said McKeever.
With Busch in commanding form, it gave Wolverines’ strike force confidence and time to rediscover their marksmanship. By the buzzer, it was the home side which looked the most likely winners.
McKeever loves what he is seeing now from his young charges.
After an up-and-down start to the season, the Wolverines are putting together team performances to please fans and coaches alike.
“We’ve a fantastic defensive squad that brings to the table good, physical hockey,” said McKeever. “Our defensemen are not afraid to go into corners. We’ve also got some really good centremen.”
McKeever heaped praise on the two girls in the line-up: Dewsnap and Jennifer Sutherland.
“Our two girl and one guy line is really dominating a lot right now,” he said. “You couldn’t pay me enough break those three up. That’s a line for the season.”
Although they play physical hockey, the Wolverines tend not to overstep the mark, said McKeever. They have the lowest number of penalty minutes out of any team in the league.
“We are very sportsmanlike,” he said. “It’s been my pleasure to coach them.”
Of course, there is always room for improvement.
“Our goalie needs to work on shots coming in low, although today he did a fantastic job,” said McKeever.
“We also have to work on our shooting skills and some of our faster skaters need to develop physical games. We have to practise shooting and passing as well.”
*The Wolverines’ roster is: Mario Acevedo, Erin Dewsnap, Damon Luciuk, William McKeever, Thomas Lutz, Jennifer Sutherland, Jason Seifeddine, Richard (TK) Mueller, Jayden Baron, Kurtis Properzi, Osbaldo Eriberto Maquez Barrios, Austin Larose, Jona Cisse, Blake Busch.
