San Angelo Rolls Abilene to get Second Tournament win
West Texas Shootout Hockey Invitational Tournament Game 3: Abilene Bombers vs San Angelo Wolfpack
By Benjamin Martin
San Angelo TX — The sun was bright as it reflected off the cement surface of the hockey rink directly into the eyes of Tony Johnson. Sweat poured down his face and soaked through the neck of his green Abilene Bombers jersey. It was nearing the end of the first half and the score sat at a paltry 5–0 in favor of the local boys on the San Angelo Wolfpack.
The Wolfpack had dominated the first 14 minutes of the half, wearing their trademark white and red jerseys. If there was a story to the game, it was that San Angelo had bent Abilene to their will.
Lenny Christo struck first for San Angelo off a pass from Keanu Henson at the 8:10 mark in the first half. Then Austin Scroggs doubled the lead with a top shelf goal following a pass from Lenny Christo. Then it was Kurt Beuker’s turn to make his presence felt — scoring back to back goals within 10 seconds to take the lead to 4 goals. Finally, Laredo Williams pushed the score tally up to 5 for the Wolfpack with a backhand following a pass from Keanu Henson to once again sound the buzzer.
Abilene felt lost and disheartened, the young team built with inexperienced teenagers and air force airmen had felt the bottom drop out. It was at this point that Tony Johnson found himself with the puck skating towards the offensive zone. TJ was young, wiry, and agile with the puck. The frustration could be felt throughout the Abilene bench as they were almost a game and a half into the tournament, and they had not yet scored a goal. The shoulders hunched and the heads lowered with every goal levied by the opposition all down the visitor’s bench. “One Minute left in the first half,” could be heard over the PA as the time winded down on the tiny scoreboard at the scorekeepers table.
Adam Keber tapped his stick on the concrete as he made his way behind the San Angelo defenders. TJ spied him as he closed in, then passed the puck and bolted towards the net. The San Angelo defenders began to close in on Adam as he skated near the goal, Trey Duncan in goal prepped for a shot as he lined his body up next to the goalpost. Everyone was focused on the puck. That’s when Abilene made their move. Adam passed the puck across the crease in front of the goalie to meet up with the stick of Tony Johnson. TJ scraped the puck off the cement with his stick and banked it past the backside of the goalie into the net.
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The repressed emotions finally broke free for the Abilene Bench as a loud roar came with raised sticks and hockey gloves. The Bombers had at long last broken through and the players in the green jerseys were on the board.
Whatever the outcome of this game, whatever lay in wait for the remainder of the tournament, they had, for a single moment, asserted their will upon the opposition. It would get worse for the Bombers before it would get better, but for now, they still had a chance in this game, down 5 goals to 1 at the half, and that was enough.
The second half saw hope turn to disappointment for the Abilene Bombers, as the San Angelo Wolfpack found the back of the net yet again. A Keanu Henson pass was deflected by Austin Scroggs past the Bombers Goalie Matthew Zellefrow to bring the score to six goals to one in favor of the home team.
The frustration manifested itself on the rink as desperation set in for the Bombers late in the game. Abilene forwards became rough with the San Angelo Goalie, setting off a chain reaction of shouting and shoving around the San Angelo goal that saw the usually calm Wolfpack Captain Scott Talley put in the penalty box for roughing. Unable to capitalize on the man advantage, the Bombers responded in kind by getting a matching tripping penalty 2 minutes later. Number 26 Joshua Ales was sent to the box to even the teams at 3 players apiece for what remained of the second half.
The damage had been done by the Wolfpack, who coasted to an easy victory lifting them their second victory of the tournament. The Bombers made a dent, but their youth and inexperience had caught up with them as they would continue their win-less streak.
The final score in game 3 was the San Angelo Wolfpack 6 and the Abilene Bombers 1.🏒
Benjamin Martin is the Director of San Angelo Hockey club as well as an amateur journalist, professional hockey fan, and sub-par defender who is a complete liability in the rink.
During these turbulent times the recap of the 2019 West Texas Shootout hockey tournament will be republished on a daily basis to bring a little hockey excitement back into our lives as we wait for life to start again.
