The Stratford Best Western The Parlour Peewee MD Warriors were in Ottawa this
past weekend, playing in the 10
th Annual Capital Winter Classic and
came away with a 2-1 round robin record. Stratford played against some
challenging competition, but were unable to advance due to a lower goals
for/against percentage in a four team tie for the two wild card spots available.
Things started slow for Stratford Friday night, as they
suffered a 6-3 loss to a strong Kanata Blazer squad. Jake Emerson picked up a
pair of goals for the Warriors, and Blake Strickland one. Josh Smith picked up
two assists, with single helpers going to Caelen Eveleigh and Ethan Reid.
On Saturday, Stratford faced a tough schedule, having to play
two games within a four hour span, and were up to the challenge, with a pair of
3-1 victories. In the early game, Mac Starkebaum scored the winning goal, on a
pass back to the point from Ryan Lott and a big face off win by Smith, late in
the third to boost the Warriors to a 3-1 win over the Petawawa Patriots. It was
Starkebaums second of the game, while Emerson had the insurance marker, in a
lopsided penalty filled affair against Stratford. Jarod Fleming made some
outstanding glove hand saves to keep his team in the game through the first two
periods.
Later that day, the Warriors faced off against the Manchester
Flames, a quick American team from New Hampshire. Josh Smith scored all three
goals as Stratford won once again by the same 3-1 margin. Emerson had three
assists, while Lott had two, and Eric Van Nes had one. Paul Bennett was solid in
net and made some key saves throughout the game. The defence of Kiran
Wotherspoon, Josh Bossence, Kolton Debus, Starkebaum and Van Nes played a huge
role in the win.
Despite the strong play be Stratford, advancing was not in
the cards despite their record, with only six of sixteen teams advancing, and
the tie break going against a Warrior squad that deserved a better fate.