written by Trevor Trainor
The Stratford Hiller Realty Minor Peewee Rep team competed in the London SSE Wild Tournament on the weekend, and despite coming up short of the playoff round, the Warriors played three of their best games of the season and proved that they can compete with any team in the league.
In game 1, the Warriors faced one of league’s top teams, the Woodstock Navy Vets. Nathan Graff and game MVP Jack Whitehead used superior puck movement and crisp passing to start the break-outs, while Colten Cowen and Erik Smith dominated down low in the offensive zone.
Although the Warriors took the play to Woodstock throughout the first period and into the second, they failed to find the back of the net. Woodstock opened the scoring late in the second but the Warriors were determined and continued to press the play. The effort paid off early in the third when Braydon Tinning and Caleb Musselman set up Owen Duiker for the tying goal. Woodstock pressed hard for the winner throughout the third period, but tough defence by Caelan Trupp and key saves by Dailey Trainor in goal preserved the tie.
In game 2, the Warriors faced another league rival, the London Mustangs White. The Warriors took the play to London early and kept the pressure on. Tough pinching defence from Owen Fraser and tenacious forechecking by speedy forwards Zach Carman and Michael Tigani wore down the competition.
The Warriors scored early in the second period when Whitehead fired a shot on goal and Carter Stock crashed the net to flip home the rebound. The Warriors continued to dominate play and were rewarded again early in the third, when Ethan Aarts broke down the wing and beat the London goalie with a quick shot.
London turned up the heat in the third, but Nolan Traynor was rock solid in the Warriors' net and quickly closed the door on all scoring attempts. The Warriors finished the scoring late in the third, when Tinning moved the puck up to game MVP Zach Freeland, who put on a burst of speed to get past the opposition and used a great deke to beat the London goalie.
The Warriors were carrying a lot of momentum into game 3 when they faced the Cambridge Hawks. The Warriors came out hard from the opening faceoff and continued to play some of their best hockey of the season.
The first period was tight checking, marked by tough defence from Carter Musselman and strong forechecking from Erik Smith. In the second period, penalties proved to be the downfall for the Warriors as they gave up two power play goals and found themselves in a hole.
The Warriors pressed hard to close the gap, but couldn’t break through the Hawks defense. Cambridge closed the scoring with an empty netter late in the third to eliminate the Warriors from the tournament. Game MVP was awarded to forward, Ethan Aarts.