Pats and Congrats to Cole Harbour's Atom A Goalie, Matt B., for Winning Joe Shootout

I had a great chance to catch up on my games these past few days, but it didn't mean that I didn't indulge in the guilty pleasure of watching my share of shootouts.  One in particular that I wanted to mention was the outstanding performance for local winner Matt Bidgood in the Atom A division.  He dominated the show and made a chain of continuous shootout saves by using his aggressive step-out, quick retreat, and big-league flexibility to stimy a slew of shooters.

Matt has made huge strides this summer and season, and while it was very exciting to watch him in the shootout, I knew that Cole Harbour was extremely well represented in that category and was going to have a major chance to snag the award.  Matt ("Biddy" to his teammates) is focused and dedicated in both practices and training which is translating to on-ice performance.  He has a long pre-game mental and physical routine that would put most high-level goalies to shame, and he gives his team a boost of confidence whenever he's nets.

 

Matt has been working with me in conjunction with his goalie partner Simon.  Not only did Matt deliver a shootout win, his goalie partner played an outstanding finals game against an Atom AA team, Bay Arenas, winning the game two to one.  Simon delivered a stellar performance and fans in the stands remarked on his cucumber-like coolness and unflappability when the Bay Arenas pressed the play for the last 90 seconds with an extra man, all in a futile attempt to even the game.  The Championship win was the first at the Cole Harbour Atom level in 13 years and it helped spark great performances at the Atom AA and Atom AAA levels later in the day.  Way to go Simon!