U10 A Boys off to provincials as league champions

The Dunny’s Source For Sports U10 A Boys St. Marys Rock won their Shamrock League banner and are headed to the OMHA Provincial Championship April 3-5. Pictured in the first row, from left to right, are Jack Becker and Everett Douglas. In the second row, from left, are Zach Rasenberg, Zac Bes, Landon McIntosh and Jacob Zwambag. In the third row, from left, are Quinn Stewart, Ben Hemstock, Brody Pearson, Max Bilyea, Maclean Ross, Carter Van Weiren, Ryker Harrison, Callum Palmer and Nicholas Madsen. In the back row, from left, are coaches Drew Pearson, Dan McIntosh, Rod Harrison and Chris Van Weiren.

By Spencer Seymour

The Dunny’s Source For Sports U10 A Boys St. Marys Rock won their Shamrock League title and will compete at the Ontario Minor Hockey Association (OMHA) Provincial Championship April 3-5.

According to head coach Rodney Harrison, the team’s two biggest intangibles they’ve emphasized all year are at the heart of the success of their season.

“As a coaching staff, we push attitude and effort,” said Harrison. “Those are the only two things we can control, our attitude and effort. If you have a good attitude and a good effort, we should be able to pull through in the long run, and it should lead to success. And if it doesn’t, it just wasn’t our night, or sometimes you get beat by a better team. But if you lose, don’t worry about it. Just respond. Come back with a good attitude next game, learn from it and move forward.”

The Rock defeated the Ausable Valley Coyotes in their playoff semi-final series, winning the best-of-five series 3-1. This set them up for a clash against the Mt. Brydges Cougars in the final, which St. Marys won in five games.

Harrison stated their semi-final win over an Ausable Valley squad that was very comparable to the Rock in terms of their play style and skillset sharpened the Rock’s game heading into the final.

“I think the semi-final series (against Ausable Valley) really set us up for success in the final series (against Mt. Brydges). We won almost every game against Ausable Valley this season, and they play similar to us. They’re big. They’re hard-nosed. They never give up. They have some skilled guys who can get the job done. It allowed us to instill that the compete level doesn’t start at the puck; it starts in your first stride in the race for the puck.

“We did a good job in the semis, and that led into the championship series against Mt. Brydges, who is a highly skilled team,” Harrison continued. “I think we had a little more size that playoff hockey might favour a little bit, and I think we were a bit more ready for that contact that playoff hockey brings.”

Harrison added the team spent much of their practice time going into the post-season refining their competitive skills.

“In the last six weeks of the year, a lot of our practices were geared towards body positioning,” Harrison said. “We were focused on making sure that we’re pushing attackers to the outside, playing outside the dots, getting pucks behind their defencemen and getting through the neutral zone with speed. You’ve got to get body position and be able to box them out and compete in front of our net.”

That strong positioning and compete level on the defensive side of the puck balances a high-octane attack possessed by the Rock, which Harrison said he and the rest of the coaching staff encourage so not to stifle the creativity and love of the game for his young squad.

“One of the things I’m big on as a coach is giving them a safe place to make a mistake,” Harrison said. “I don’t want kids gripping their sticks too hard. If something goes wrong or we make a mistake, it’s not the end of the world, and we will respond. You’ve got to let them think for themselves and make their own choices. I think it makes you a better player, and at times it works out, and at times it doesn’t, but when you need a goal, a play like that could be the difference.”

Harrison also explained why the team believing in themselves is a major key to all of their success this season and will continue to be key when they get to the highly competitive provincial final.

“We just need to play as a team. At this level, eight of the best teams in Ontario are there. It’s going to need to be a complete team effort, and we do have what we need. We need good goaltending, which we have. We need skilled defencemen, which we have. We need skilled forwards, which we have. Everyone is beatable, it’s just a matter of executing and believing in ourselves.”