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THE OBSERVER | Saturday, December 06, 2008 SPORTS | 29
»JUNIOR DEVELOPMENT
Jacks fighting for the turnaround
Losing streak extends to eight games with weekend losses; need to play as a team, says GM
JONI MILTENBURG
With the midway point of
the season behind them, the
Wellesley Applejacks are
looking to turn things around
over the next 18 regular season
games.
Last weekend the Jacks
dropped decisions to Ayr and
North Middlesex, deepening
their losing streak to eight
games.
General manager Dave Litt
said it will take solid teamwork
to snap them out of the
slump.
“I think right now we’ve got
to get them to play as a team
and not as individuals. A
good team effort will get us
out of this and get us through
the season.”
On Nov. 29, the Jacks lost a
hard-fought contest to Ayr
3-2.
Tom Collins got the Centennials
on the board first in the
opening frame, beating keeper
Kent Stoltz unassisted at
the 9:36 mark. In the second
period Matt VanLavne made it
two for Ayr at the 16:06 mark,
on a feed from Kody Pickett.
That second goal served as
a wake-up call to the Jacks,
and they stormed back into
the game. Ben Jeffries scored
the first for Wellesley at 16:30,
deflecting a Dan Berwick shot
over the goalie and into the
back of the net. Just 15 seconds
later, Chris Armstrong
tied things up with a power
play goal on a pass from Scott
Litt and Pat Doyle.
The Centennials reclaimed
the lead in the third period
when Pickett converted on a
David Murray pass at 2:35.
The Jacks tried to keep up
the momentum of the second
period but couldn’t find the
mesh again as shots bounced
off the posts and Ayr keeper
Kyle Debus pounced on rebounds.
With a minute and a half
left, coach John Tsai pulled
Stoltz from the net and sent
six attackers in pursuit of a
tying goal. Ayr lobbed several
shots down the ice, trying
for an empty-net goal;
two went wide and a third
glanced off the post before
a faceoff in Wellesley’s end
forced Tsai to send the keeper
back out.
The match ended at 3-2 in
regulation.
REACHING The Wellesley Applejacks’ Brett VanGerwen
scrambles for the puck in front of Ayr’s net Nov.
29. The Jacks dropped a 3-2 decision to the Centennials,
the first of two weekend losses.
Litt said Sunday night’s
game against North Middlesex
was much the same story.
“We got in a hole and couldn’t
dig our way out of it … Got
into a big deficit, battled hard
to get back. [A] couple of soft
goals and that was the game.”
North Middlesex took an
early lead, scoring three un-
answered goals in the first period.
Wellesley fought back in
the second frame, with Doyle
banging the puck in unassisted
44 seconds in.
The Stars made it 4-1 with
a power play goal at 2:20, but
the Jacks weren’t out of the
game yet. Geoff Parr notched
a point at 4:48 on a feed from
PHOTO | JONI MILTENBURG
Dan Shackleton. A minute
into the third period, Brett
VanGerwen slotted the puck
in unassisted to put the Jacks
within one of tying it up. But
two more goals for North Middlesex
put a comeback out of
reach and the game ended
6-4.
When a team is down in
points, frustration often turns
into frequent trips to the penalty
box. But for the most part
the Jacks stayed out of the
box, logging only nine penalties
over the weekend.
Litt said limiting penalties is
something the team has been
working on, and he’s proud of
the way the players are doing
on that front.
“[We’re] much improved
from the past. That’s one of
the keys to winning hockey
games, is being disciplined
and playing five on five instead
of shorthanded. I’m
very happy with that part of
the game.”
After playing host against
Mount Brydges on Friday, the
Jacks have a chance to even
the score against Ayr when
the teams face off tonight
(Saturday) in Wellesley. Game
time is 7:30 p.m.