On Friday, February 17, Newsome JV faced off against Plant JV at the team’s home rink, TGH IcePlex, in Brandon. This game was crucial to determine their placement for the upcoming playoffs in March. The tension on the ice and in the stands grew as the teams tied with a final 3-3 score.

Even before their skates hit the ice, the energy from both teams radiated throughout the entire arena. The Newsome boys kept a high-intensity and lively mood overall through their warmups. Victor Alcaide, one of Newsome’s right wings, says, “The boys were just really fired up. That’s how we roll.”

The Wolves came out strong and scored first with Ryan Dube securing a two-point lead in the first period. Plant’s goalie, Russel LaRosa, was kept on his toes in the first period, having a total of eight close blocks against Newsome. The Newsome defense stayed strong for the duration of the remaining period, rarely letting Plant hold possession of the puck.

At the beginning of the second period, Plant gained first possession of the puck and displayed a more heads-up approach on defense. Both teams alternated control with the puck, hanging close to each other for the entirety of the period. At the three-minute mark, Ryan Dube comes in again, getting another goal for Newsome. Within the last ten seconds of the period, Connor Sickles had a blindside shot into Newsome’s goal, getting a point on the board for Plant.

Starting in the third, Plant comes out again controlling the puck first. Much like the second period, the players had a fair share of opportunities with the puck in the first half. Coming up to the six-minute mark, Newsome had an interference called against them, resulting in a power play opportunity for Plant. During this time, Michael Lovesy had an opening on Newsome’s goal and took a shot. The goal was good and brought the score to 3-2. With three and a half minutes remaining in the game, Andrew Davis obtained a close goal for Plant, tying the score 3-3.

Having little time left, Newsome stayed vigilant, shooting with every opening they could get. The Newsome crowd was sure their JV would win after Taylor Domenech, No. 87, had an extremely close shot attempt that was skillfully blocked by Plant’s goalie. With the final buzzer, Newsome and Plant tied 3-3 for the night.

Since this game was a traditional season game, the score was able to end as a tie. Later in the playoff and championship season, the teams will go into overtime or partake in a shootout, a tiebreaker, to determine the win or loss.

Ryan Dube said that the 3-1 lead in the third caused the boys to “take their foot off the gas and turn on cruise control,” leading to Plant’s comeback. Overall, Dube says the team played great together throughout the game to “keep up the offensive pressure and drive hard in the offensive zone and keep up the scoring chances.”

For more upcoming game information and scheduling for Newsome, visit the team website at https://newsomehockey.sportngin.com