Ice Zoo Hockey Club

This year we had a few Wolves participating in the Ginsberg national state tournament (for U13-Peewee players) in Adelaide a few weeks ago.

Reba was there to whiteness it all, and below is her report from the event.

We had three Wolves strutting their stuff on the National stage: Jamison Harris (Bantam & Green Jersey) nagged his mum to let him have some time off school and take him to Adelaide so he could cheer on his friends.

Dani Harris is a trooper and brought Jamison and his little brother to be the cheer squad. Such an awesome gesture of comradery and friendship that was deeply appreciated by Kristina and Louie.

Kristina Dmitriyev (First year Peewee) was drafted by ACT and played centre for them and played her hardest in every game. She did a fabulous job on a team where not many of the kids had played together before.

Louie Meagher (second year peewee) as the reserve goalie for NSW he travelled and stayed with the NSW squad and served in the tournament as the Emergency Backup Goalie (EBUG). All teams except SA had two goalies and didn’t require his services. SA had one goalie so Louie dressed for them every game.

They gave him the third period in SA v QLD five shots on him and five shots saved. The game was a shut out for SA. He played two periods in SA v ACT then In a cruel twist of fate it was a SA v NSW grand final.

The SA goalie got rattled in the third period so they put Louie in the net. He did a great job – five shots, four saves and one went in on the rebound in a NSW power play.

It was emotionally challenging for Louie to play against his own team and not without some bumps. Some of the younger NSW kids called him a traitor but it was well handled by Remi after the game and everyone came home happy.

NSW deserved to win the tournament. They played so well – it was just magic to watch them. And importantly – it was a really nice bunch of kids that all seemed to get on very well together. Remi, Nikko and the management team did an amazing job and the whole thing ran like clockwork.

I was a cabin parent on the trip and really loved every minute of it. It was really full on but so great to watch these kids bond and come together as a team.

NSW brought home the gold and Louie brought home a silver which he says means just as much to him because he earned it on the day.

In a really beautiful gesture of thanks the SA team presented Louie with the jersey he wore for them. It’s particularly special because the SA jerseys belong to the club and are handed down to each player and they stitch a panel on the back with their name on.

After the tournament they take their name off the jersey and hand it back to the club. You will no doubt see him around the rink in it – he wears it to bed, wore it to training on Tuesday morning and would wear it to school if he could get away with it!!

It was an amazing experience for Kristina and Louie. Our Club can be very proud of how they both played, the way they fitted in with teams they had never encountered before and the new hockey friendships they have made.

Louie and I would really like to thank everyone at the Wolves for your encouragement and support in the lead up to the tournament.

Thanks, Reba and congrats to all.

We would like to also mention that Finn Moore (who left the club a few weeks before the tournament) made the NSW team this year also. Finn has been part of the Wolves since he was an Atom and we wish him well in his future endeavours.