|
|
On Sunday, Brooks notched his fourth of the season as the Waxers defeated the visiting Collingwood Blues 6-3. "There was a lot of pressure on me," said a relieved Brooks after Friday's game. "But I knew it was going to come. It was just a matter of time. I think I've been holding the stick a little too hard. But tonight (Friday) I got the bounces." Starting the season on a line with veterans Kevin Cribari and Pat Porretta, Brooks was shifted to another line with veteran Ryan Steane and rookie Rainor Guminny. While Brooks credits Cribari and Porretta in helping him acclimatize himself to the calibre of play, he feels the chemistry of his new line is condusive to his offensive skills. "This is more of a grinding line," Brooks said of his new linemates, "but it's been helping me because they feed me the puck and I can concentrate on getting a lot of shots on goal. Tonight I had a lot of open shots and that was nice to see." Like a lot of first-year junior A players, Brooks acknowledged he's still getting a feel for the accelerated pace of the game at the next level. Apart from not scoring until Fridayšs game, he feels hešs on the right track to being a big contributor to the team. "Making the adjustment to junior is hard. The speed of the game is faster here. It's been hard but I feel that Išve been playing well," said Brooks, who played last season with the Brother Andre Catholic High School Cardinals and North York Canadians major bantams and was drafted by the Mississauga Ice Dogs in last year's Ontario Hockey League draft. Relieved to finally see Brooks break the ice with a big offensive production, Waxers head coach Russ Herrington conceded that the first-year forward was pressing a bit through the early going.
"Last week it was the right wingers turn for one on one meetings with the coaching staff and when I talked to Nathaniel I talked to him about putting too much pressure on himself to score. He was putting too much pressure on himself and I told him he didn't need to make every goal a pretty one, but just go to the net. Tonight he went to the net and he got his first goal." "Other than that, his work ethic and defensive play has been a pleasant surprise." As for being in a Waxers' uniform, Brooks likes what he sees of this year's team in the early going. "I think we have a good chance of winning it all. This team has a lot of heart in our dressing room. We don't quit." In Friday's game, the Waxers broke open a 3-3 tie through two periods with five unanswered goals in the third period. The first three came on the power play, courtesy of a five-minute major incurred by the Legionaires. Gumminy, Daniel Torres, Mark Menonte, Porretta and Liam Bowen added the other Waxers' goals. In Sunday's win, defenceman Jamie Wright scored twice while Tony Rossi, Ryan Olidis and Steane added singles for the Waxers, who broke a 1-1 first-period tie to take a 4-2 lead through two periods. The game was delayed for about 40 minutes when Collingwood's bus arrived late. On a separate note, the Waxers dealt the rights to forward Ty Raine to the Stouffville Spirit last Friday for an undisclosed amount of cash. Now 6-3-2 on the season, the Waxers will host the Stouffville Spirit Friday at Centennial Arena at 8 p.m. and host the Couchiching Terriers on Sunday at 12:30 p.m.
|
..FROM
THE DESK OF MIKE HAYAKAWA..