Stratford
Motor Products Minor Midget Warriors after playing 5 games in three days lost
in the final of the Stratford Silver Stick Tournament after battling their way
through the round robin portion of the tournament.
Six teams were entered in the division with the winner heading to Newmarket for the North American Silver Stick Finals.
Stratford started off strongly defeating an overmatched Orangeville team 7-0 and followed that with a 7-5 victory over eventual champion Burlington Eagles before ending the round robin portion with a 2-2 tie against the Mississauga Braves.
That set up a semi final matchup with Orangeville again resulting in a convincing 5-1 victory and setting the stage for a rematch with the Eagles from Burlington. Unfortunately it was not to be as the Warriors dropped a 4-2 decision and missed the opportunity to play at the Newmarket finals.
While a solid team effort overall, the line of Dalton Smith, Clayton Lewis and Nathan Hall had a particularly strong weekend and defensemen Brett Denny and Mitchell Casey stood out with their solid play on the blueline. Goaltender Baily Paquette carried the load in net due to an injury to his partner
and was stellar in backstopping the Warriors to the final.