It was Jared Young's first game of the season, and quite possibly his last. He sure took advantage of the opportunity to play.
Young, a Grade 10 goaltender for the PGSS Polars, backstopped his team to a 2-1 win against the College Heights Cougars in the annual Spirit of Hockey and Community Cup, played Friday afternoon at CN Centre. In the series between the two high school clubs, the Polars were victorious for the second year in a row and took a 5-3 overall lead.
The 15-year-old Young is a rep-level player and, in his age group, was among the top stoppers in B.C. last season. But, this season, he decided he needed a break from competition. Until Friday, the only pucks he had faced this fall were fired by other students in the PGSS hockey program.
"I haven't played in a while and winning that game was nice," Young said.
"It was so much fun. I haven't had that feeling in a while."
Young had to stay mentally sharp in the late stages of the contest when the Cougars pulled goaltender Bowman Rutledge in favour of an extra attacker. As it turned out though, Young didn't have to face a high-quality shot. The Cougars generated lots of pressure inside the zone but weren't able to break down the PGSS defence. The Polars had just four defencemen in their lineup -- Jake LeBrun, Dryden Profeit, Jordan Low and Brad Matte -- and they were solid the whole game.
With the Polars limiting the scoring chances of the Cougars, they didn't need much in the way of offence themselves. Hayden-James Berra scored both PGSS goals, one in the first period, unassisted, and the winner part way through the third. On the deciding marker, Berra accepted a drop pass from PGSS captain Darrian Estey and, from the top of the faceoff circle, fired a low shot past Rutledge.
"Hayden played well," said LeBrun. "He's just a really good, solid player -- always tries his hardest."
Hayden Pederson was the only College Heights shooter who got a puck past Young. Pederson's top-shelf tally came late in the middle frame after a faceoff win by the Cougars and a scramble in front of the PGSS net.
More than 1,500 spectators showed up to support their teams.
"It was great playing in front of all the fans," LeBrun said.
"(Winning) was awesome. It was a good experience."
