Crabby Joe’s Minor Bantam MD squad gave valiant efforts in their quest for victory last weekend in the John MacDonald Memorial Tournament in St. Catharines, but they came up short against some very tough opposing teams.
In the first game Stratford faced off against North London. Down by one at the end of the first, the Warriors responded shortly into the second period with a rush by Casey Champion that led to a goal from Andrew Rae, a great rebound off a hard shot by Devin Salter.
Later in the middle period, a scramble in front of the net by the same three aggressive forwards resulted in Salter credited with a goal, assisted by Champion and Rae.
Stratford held the lead until late in the third when London tied it up ending the game 2 - 2. Defencemen Trevor Smith and Luke Merkel had a strong game, while forwards Josh Erb and Jason Kipfer were relentless on the forecheck. Owen Chapman played a great game between the pipes.
In their second game of the tournament, the Warriors were unable to net the puck, losing 1-0 to Burlington. Ryan Van Dam was outstanding in net stopping many quality shots trying to keep his team in the game. Jacob Hawley and Matt Kahnke were strong forces up front, while Ryan Stelmachuk and Josh Otto played well defensively.
Although bruised and battered, the Warriors gave a great effort in playing their third and final game against the opposing team, seeming at times to be two forces, one wearing stripes. Cody Heinbuch was solid on defence, as were Brady Simpson and Brayden Bach offensively. St. Catharines won 4-0.