An outstanding weekend of determination, desire and team work resulted in a B championship in Port Dover on October 24th, 25th and 26th.
The weekend started out with a game on Friday October 24th vs. the Aylmer Flames. The boys were disappointed in missing school for the first game of the tournament. They channeled their disappointment into a fast skating, hard hitting game and came away with a hard fought 2-0 win. Tyler "Pookie" Munro scored our first goal in the first period, then Mitch "Mario" Esbaugh buried one in the 2nd. The line of Jacob "Stretch" Wellman, Carson "Get Higgy with it" Higgins and Nick "The Flash" Zyta were a dominating force throughout the game. Brett "The Poof" Springer was his solid self between the pipes.
Game #2 on Saturday was against Niagara on the Lake. The game was a fierce contest from the first puck drop to the bitter end. Nick "Crusher" Lobrutto and Jeremy "Bruiser" Erb played with a physical edge. Matthew "Markov" Teminiuk and Josh "Karlson" Runstedler controlled the play and the steady passing of Josh "Phaneuf" Monk gave Niagara on the Lake all they could handle in our zone. A couple of bad breaks and a lucky goal resulted in a loss of 3 to 1.
After a night of rest and relaxation with a casual game of "bun" toss at a local eatery, we faced Newcastle on Sunday October 26th, for a spot in the A or B Finals. The game was decisive as the loser would be eliminated. It was an early start for 8AM but the boys came out to play. The line of Tyson "Marchand" Bolender, Cole "Tavares" Bender and Mario Esbaugh came out flying and potted our 1st goal within 5 minutes of the start of the game. They scored another one in the 2nd. Our rookie line of Pookie Munro, Quinn "Nugent" Baxter and Colton "Nash" Tucker sealed the deal with a great goal in the third period. We missed the steady passing of Phaneuf Monk who was out of the tournament with an injury but our D was spectacular in front of the 'Poof" who was cool and confident in shutting down Newcastle. The "Poof" recorded his second shutout of the tournament.
We eagerly awaited our fate for what game we were to play in, the A or B finals. All we required was for Aylmer to take one point vs. Niagara on the Lake but as fate had it, it wasn't to be.
The B finals were set vs. South Kent. At puck drop, South Kent was all over us in the first period but Nate "Henrik" Belcourt was outstanding in holding us in the game. Based on Nate's spectacular play, our line of Marchand Bolender, Tavares Bender and Super Mario began to dominate, setting us up with 4 goals. Jiggy Higgy, Flash Zyta and Stretch Wellman played spectacularly in our own zone. Pookie Munro, Nugent Baxter and Nash Tucker put us up 5-2 at the beginning of the 3rd but near tragedy almost struck. Nash Tucker took a viscous knee on knee hit that took him out of the line up with 10 minutes left in the third. The momentum began to shift but our "D" of Markov Temniuk, The Bruiser Erb, the Crusher Lobrutto and Karlson Runstedler didn't panic, they held the fort. Henrik Belcourt made some pressure racking big saves and we held on for a 5-4 victory.
Congratulations to the boys, they played hard, disciplined and focussed hockey all weekend long. Well done. A special mention to the players on the unique pre game warm up outfits on Friday and Saturday. You made your mothers proud but your fathers nervous. Thanks to the coaching staff for getting the boys focussed and ready to play (...and for keeping the supplies cold for a Saturday night in Simcoe.)