Game 1

The Rock N' Roll Cup got off to a rocky start for Drew and his Novi FireCats teammates. For Drew, the bad day started as we neared the hotel after nearly a three hour drive from home. It was when we were approximately 10 minutes away when Drew had the sudden realization that his jerseys were still hanging at home. I can't blame him for the mishap, however, as he had done as asked and had all of his stuff together. I made the mistake of moving some of the items to the garage to load in the car, but failed to go back for the jerseys. Since he didn't load the car, he didn't realize that they failed to make it in with the rest of our stuff for the weekend. This was definitely not how we wanted to kick this weekend off...

As for the FireCats - things looked good through the first period. Although the Amherst team got on the board first with an early goal, it didn't take long for the FireCats to answer back with a goal of their own. Things settled down a bit for both teams for the remainder of the period, as the two teams trading scoring chances at each end of the ice.

Things began to go bad for the Novi boys in the second period, as they struggled to generate good looks on net. The Amherst team made the best of their chances, scoring three times in the period. As would become a theme for the night, most of their goals didn't occur on the initial shot, but rather on the rebound chances that followed as the FireCats players were unable to clear the puck. The FireCats found themselves in a 4-1 hole heading into the third period.

Things continued to go south for Novi, as Amherst added to their lead with two more goals before the FireCats were able to come up with an answer. Despite narrowing the gap to 6-2, the flow of play was still in Amherst's favor. They would add two more rebound goals before Novi would score again, but by then there was little chance of a comeback as time was running low. A final Amherst goal wrapped up the scoring, securing a 9-3 victory for Amherst over the Novi FireCats. The loss gave the FireCats a 0-1 record in the tournament, and a bit of a hole to dig out of in their effort to play in the playoff rounds on Sunday.

Novi FireCats - Rock N' Roll Cup Game 1 - vs. Amherst Knights AA Green
	Drew pointing at the puck as he makes his way down the ice.
	Drew skating down the rink.
	Drew knocking the puck away from an Amherst player.
	Drew sporting his red spring jersey while his teammates wore their black jerseys.
	Drew lined up on his defensive position during a faceoff.
	Drew gaining control of the puck...
	...and firing it at the net...
	...and following through with his shot.
	Drew playing the puck in the corner.
	Drew clearing out the area in front of the net.
	Drew knocking the puck away in front of the net.
	Drew trying to keep an Amherst player out of the crease area.
	Despite the score on the scoreboard, the Novi FireCats suffered a 9-3 loss in the opening game of the Rock N' Roll Cup.
	Drew and his teammates going through the post-game handshake line.

Novi FireCats - Rock N' Roll Cup Game 1 - vs. Amherst Knights AA Green

Drew pointing at the puck as he makes his way down the ice.

Drew skating down the rink.

Drew knocking the puck away from an Amherst player.

Drew sporting his red spring jersey while his teammates wore their black jerseys.

Drew lined up on his defensive position during a faceoff.

Drew gaining control of the puck...

...and firing it at the net...

...and following through with his shot.

Drew playing the puck in the corner.

Drew clearing out the area in front of the net.

Drew knocking the puck away in front of the net.

Drew trying to keep an Amherst player out of the crease area.

Despite the score on the scoreboard, the Novi FireCats suffered a 9-3 loss in the opening game of the Rock N' Roll Cup.

Drew and his teammates going through the post-game handshake line.