The Xpertek Hockey News

And the streak goes on
Xpertek contains speedy Trains and Airplanes, off to 4-0 start

Ottawa – The Xpertek Construction Inc. Hockey Club faced its first real test of this young OSMHL season last night, squaring off against a Trains and Airplanes squad that many had pegged to walk away with an easy victory over their older, slower rivals.

T&A failed to account, however, for the veteran experience that peppers the Xpertek line-up, and it showed on the scoreboard as Xpertek capitalized on its few scoring chances and took advantage of its powerplay opportunities, two elements that many call hallmarks of most upper echelon hockey clubs.

In the end, the boys in the bleu, blanc, rouge walked away with a hard-fought 4-2 victory.

Adam Hendriks, who has shown himself to be a dependable force on the wing this season, led the way with a pair of goals, his second and third of the year. It was Hendriks who gave Xpertek an early 1-0 lead, picking off an ill-advised T&A pass up the middle and burying a heavy wrist shot in the lower left corner.

While the T&A goaltender appeared stunned that the puck found its way onto Hendriks’ stick, it was Hendriks himself who was shocked that such a great scoring opportunity found him in the high slot.

“I was just standing there, thinking to myself ‘I wonder if that guy will try to pass that up the middle’, when much to my surprise he put the puck right on my stick,” Hendriks said.

“I don’t want to brag or anything, but you give me that much room to manoeuvre, within such close proximity to the net, and I’ll burn you every time,” the lanky forward added, before licking his thumb, pressing it against his shoulder and making a ‘tssssss’ sound to remind us of his current hot hand.

Hendriks had every right to sing his own praises, as he also assisted on Steve Parker’s winning goal, which came on the man advantage mid-way through the second frame. The three-point effort on the night moved Hendriks into second place in the league scoring race with three goals and three assists in four games.

Earlier in the period, centre Marc Baril, with his first twine-tickler of the year, had given Xpertek HC a 2-1 lead, and in the process served notice that despite being the older, slower team, Xpertek HC will make opponents who take them lightly pay a heavy price for disrespecting them.

When asked to explain how a team of precocious youngsters could be so schooled by a bunch of so-called ‘over the hill-ers’, one T&A player who asked to remain unnamed had this to say: “We’ve got old guys too you know – two of them are even 25.”

Xpertek HC puts its season-long winning streak on the line next Sunday, November 2, in a 10 p.m. game against the Capitals at Bernard Grandmaitre Arena.

THREE STARS

1. Adam Hendriks – Two goals, assist, involved all night
2. Pat Lafontaine – Timely saves keep Xpertek HC in the game early on
3. Etienne Dutrisac – Solid defensive work powers Xpertek transition game