Colts Poised to Win Bronze Medal in Winter Games of Texas - TONIGHT!

The Mesquite Colts have spent their holiday weekend on the ice at the Winter Games of Texas in Frisco, providing family and friends with exciting, heart-beating hockey and racking up an impressive 3-1 record in a tournament that has proved this team knows how to win. Best of all, it gave everyone a taste of sweet victory, reminding these kids what it feels like to work hard and achieve.

And it's not over yet. The Colts will head to the Medal Round at 7 tonight in Frisco.

TOURNAMENT HIGHLIGHTS
The Colts are in the competition this year, and this tournament got a great start with a series of wins Saturday and Sunday before receiving the worst beating of the season at the hands of an Arlington Wild team that had handily put away its earlier opponents. (The Wild beat McKinney 7-1 and Marcus 7-2). The Colts lost to the Wild 8-0.

But enough about the Wild, which will likely give St. Marks their first loss of the season tonight in the Gold Medal Round. That alone should give us some sense of satisfaction and a reason to smile (just a little in their direction).

SATURDAY GAME RECAP
With Captain Ethan Fox injured and out for a few weeks,and several players out of town for other tournaments with other teams,the core of the Colts and many younger players have been forced to step up the pace, and step up they have.

In the first game Saturday in McKinney, the Colts beat Midlothian by a score of 2-1 that came down to a penalty shot after the final buzzer, that gave Midlo one last chance. Despite the one-on-one assault, Paulie won the battle in a heart pounder, and the Colts won the game. Pointstreak has not posted the box sheet for this game, but the two Colts goals were scored by Tanner Holubar and Nick Adams.

GAME 2 - COLTS VS PLANO WILDCATS
The Colts moved to the Frisco rink Saturday afternoon to face the Plano Wildcats in a game that showed the individual talents and heart of every boy on the team. Mesquite won 6-2.

Plano got off early with a shot on goal after the first face off and a burst of energy that had them on the board just over two minutes in with a 1 - 0 lead. Nick Adams then took control on his shift to tie the game with an unassisted goal a minute later that he followed on his next shift with a power play goal assisted by Austin Ivy. That put the score at 2-1 after the first.

A dead on defense shut Plano down in the second period, and a goal from the Matthew Jenkin, Dalton Watkins, Tanner Holubar line put the Colts up 3-1 at the end of the second.

Defense throughout the weekend has been led by assistant captain Justin "Big" Ivy, who has been playing like he wants to win every chance he’s on the ice, and Dylan Nessman is on rocket fuel with his speed and aggressive play. Austin "Little" Ivy, who is not so little any more, has stepped up his physical game and become a force to be reckoned with at defense as well, and Colin South has been a great addition to the team bringing much needed speed to our defensive lines.

Cody Hanson put one on the boards four minutes into the third with a pass from Nick Adams to lift the score to 4-1, and when Plano got itself into penalty trouble for cross checking, Austin Ivy took advantage with gusto, skating into the zone and cranking a slapshot that flew so fast through traffic the goalie didn't have a chance. The Colts were up 5-1.

The final minutes of the third were a sloppy mess of physical frustration on the behalf of Plano and some understandable protection measures by the Colts that put three Plano players and both Brian Hall and Austin Ivy in the penalty box over the course of the last minutes of play and kept the teams evenly matched on the ice, which allowed Nick Adams to cap his awesome game with a hat trick. The Colts beat Plano 6-1. Paul Hinojo stopped 23 of 24 shots while the Colts 24 shots put six past Plano's two goalies.

SUNDAY GAMES
On Sunday morning, the Colts were back in McKinney for their first of two games of the day. Flower Mound, who they will face in the medal game tonight, was their very worthy opponent, showing it has endurance and tenacity and loves to shoot at the net. If it hadn't been for the incredible play of Colts back-up goalie John Seitzler, the outcome could have been dire. Flower Mound out shot the Colts with 43 aims at the net to Mesquite's 13. Without Seiztler's glove, I shudder to think...nonetheless, the Colts beat Flower Mound 4-3.

Tonight Mesquite needs to stay out of penalty trouble against Flower Mound while physically stopping their ability to get as many shots off. This is NOT a team to skate back from, because if you give any of them room, they'll take a shot. Keep remembering "43 SHOTS ON NET!"

In Sunday's contest against Flower Mound, Coby Benson and Alex Novosel took care of the scoring, each grabbing two goals. Benson got both his with great teamwork and passing from Nick Adams and Cody Hanson, and Alex took a great hard pass from Tanner Holubar to score his first goal near the end of the first. He put in his second, the team's fourth, unassisted in the third.

Flower Mound made a noble comeback attempt, however, and the Colts have to remember to keep up the pace and never let a three goal lead give them too much confidence. Teams that want to win can come back on us quick, as we saw with Flower Mound Sunday.


TONIGHT - BRING YOUR "A" GAME!

Every member of the Colts hockey club has the ability to contribute to this medal win tonight.

Family, fans and coaches alike have seen the individual talents of these boys flourish and come to the surface, and it's obvious that every man on the ice has something to add together to bring a win tonight. Character counts, so bring that too.

This team has come together in an attempt to fill a big hole left by the absence of Ethan from the ice. Everyone has contributed thus far to winning games through hard work and tenacity. Every player needs to remember that they have something to contribute every single time they are on the ice.

We have speed with Justin and Matthew, Dylan and Collin, we have teamwork on the lines and trust between players that have played together for years and those who have just joined our team. The physical game has picked up and helped, whether it's fearless Cody Richardson, Adrian Hall, the Hall Brother's Double Hit, or Coby's newfound tendancy to go in for a crushing blow. Playing physical is fine as long as we also focus on keeping control of the puck in our zone and shooting it at and into the net.

Flower Mound almost beat St. Mark's Sunday night. We gave St. Mark's one of their toughest games a couple weeks ago. We beat Flower Mound yesterday, but they have the ability to beat us. We are evenly matched unless every play comes to win.

If every member of the Mesquite Colts Ice Hockey Club comes to Frisco tonight ready to play his heart out for a team win. If you all play smart and stay out of penalty trouble, we can't be beat by this team.

Tonight: Put the lid on these 40 plus shots a game. Stop their shots. Don't give them room, tie them up. Take control and keep the puck in our zone. Shoot at the net, above the shoulders and in the corners, not at the goalie's chest. Stay out of the box. Play physical, but make your hits clean. These boys play nice. They don't go in the box. We can't afford to go in there either.

So Colts, come to the ice and play like you want to win. A bronze medal is a big deal. You all want one. Your coaches who have never given up on you deserve one last win for the weekend. Let's get it tonight.

Oh, and of course, let's have fun.