Goliaths grow tougher skin

[attach]1283[/attach]Despite a 3-1 loss to Lawrence Park Feb. 9 at Ted Reeve Arena, East York Goliaths are learning to be resilient.

The Tier 1 hockey team only has one win during league play in South Region hockey.

East York coach Rob Greco wants the players to understand building the program will take time.

“They have to realize they are in Tier 1 and that they are young,” he said. “This could be a three or four year process for them and as long as they keep developing and keep working hard they will be rewarded in a few years.”

Even with the losing season the players are buying into the system Greco and the coaching staff have put in place.

“The commitment from the kids has been good,” he said. “Despite losing a lot of games, they always show up and work hard.
“All of the players are doing well in school which is the most important.”

In Tuesday’s game against Lawrence Park, who have also been struggling this season with a 3-4 record, the Goliaths had their fair share of scoring opportunities but hit goal posts and sent shots wide of the cage.

“We had trouble scoring and we had a lot of power play opportunities,” Greco said. “We were happy with our effort … they are doing the best they can.”

Scoring the lone Goliaths goal was Eli Cooper. He found the back of the net with 4:02 remaining in the game while the Panthers were killing off a penalty.

In order to build off of this season, Greco would like to see East York capitalize more on scoring chances.

“We need a little bit more scoring and if we can capitalize more on opportunities then a few results might be different,” he said.

Greco believes positive results will come, his players just need to gain some more experience playing at this level.

“We are hanging in games, but the top teams are handling us pretty easily,” he said. “The wins will come soon enough. We just have to be patient and continue to work hard.”