As the
calendar moved into the month of December the Milverton Four Wheel Drives found
themselves at the tail end of lengthy road schedule . The first part of the season had the team
playing eight games on the road and with the loss of Shelburne from the league only
three games were played at home. However, the good news is, other than a visit
to Cforth in January , the team will play the remainder of their games at the
PERC. So perhaps the tide will turn for the good ship Four Wheel Drive in their
quest to gain a top eight seed for the playoffs
The weekend commenced with a Friday night rendezvous in
Durham with league rivals the Thundercats . En route to said destination with
my faithful wingman Teeky by my side I couldn’t
help but remember the great history between the two teams . It seems
like only yesterday, but in fact close to thirty years ago when the Drives and ‘Cats
duked it out for league supremacy. Memories of the upstairs viewing area at the
old arena are still vivid. People socializing, smoking cigarettes , swilling
beer and children running wild like feral animals. The image of the group of
fans standing in the northeast corner of the arena ready and willing to
dispense any inspiration to the opposition still remains clear. This was
perhaps the greatest collection of hockey minds ever assembled and they were in
the old arena . The smell of fried onions in the lobby from the booth. The painting of the Queen at the south end of
the arena with holes left by pucks randomly placed on the surface of the
portrait. The gondola above the players benches was also another highlight of
the old arena . These were all supporting characters that played a part in the
Durham / Milvey rivalry in the late 90’s early 2000’s . The Drives, at the time pocessed the unique trifecta of skill, grit and determination that would allow them to win three out of
four years with back to back championships included.
This
version of the two teams rivalry was not quite as in intense but skilled and
talented nonetheless. The black and gold were short man power Friday evening as
they played with thirteen skaters. The Drives fell behind 2-0 and held the ‘Cats
to that lead when Mitch Boertien would tally his sixth goal of the season with
Coleton Quipp and Jeff Fritzley picking up helpers. This would cut the score to
2-1 mid way through the second . The ‘Cats would go up by two again to lead 3-1
going into the third period. The Drives would answer back in the third to cut
the lead to one on another goal by Boertien , assists going to Fritzley and
Vinnie Vitelli. With over half a period left to play the Drives forced the play
, had a great deal of zone time and many great oppurtunities to tie the game .
However, the game of hockey can be cruel and unfair as the ‘Cats would score on
a flukey bounce with 5 minutes left to go ahead by two. Again the Drives would
attempt an extra attacker strategy but to no avail as Durham would score an
empty net tally to seal the deal.
Saturdays
contest with the Ripley Wolves marked the second meeting of the year between
the two teams . Again Milverton would be
a little light in the player department against the league’s top team. Mitch Boertien woud notch his eighth of the
year unassisted to give the Drives the lead . There was no other scoring in the
first period and the team would take this lead into the second period. A
combination of the lads running out of energy and the double shifting of Garret
Meurs and Ethan Skinner ,who counted in on all six Ripley goals led to Ripley’s
eventual 6-1 victory . Tyler Fassl was
remarkable in net facing 59 shots .
Next home game is
this Saturday at 5:30 against the Lucknow Lancers ....Ladies Night at the PERC