The Evoke Marketing Tier I Novice Warriors captured the Dave Clarke Memorial Novice 1 title on the weekend with a thrilling 1-0 shootout victory over Ingersoll in the final.
Stratford advanced to the final after a decisive 9-0 victory over Belle River, October 28. Ryan Cassone opened the scoring 34 seconds in firing a shot high stick side after the setup by Owen Blain and Cole Hishon. Colten Brenzil netted two straight tallies, the second after a rush up the left side by Mark Martin, who passed out front and Brenzil fired high glove side for a 3-0 lead. Blain finished off a beautiful passing display from Cassone and Owen Chambers late in the first to make it 4-0 at the end of the frame. Early in the second Chambers dazzled on a trademark end to end rush to make it 5-0 and then 15 seconds later Colston Kibedi found Cassone down low and he slid it across to Blain and he snapped a shot that the goalie only got a piece of for a 6-0 advantage. Owen Bridges and Rylan DeBoeck did a great job in a scrum of players at the blueline that allowed Brenzil to pick up the puck, deke and then slide it in the open side. In the dying moments Cassone picked up a rebound of a Casen deGraaf point shot and made it 8-0 with a beautiful wrap around. deGraaf put an exclamation on the win with an end to end rush that found the back of the net. Noah Brosens earned the shutout.
On October 29, the Warriors faced a feisty squad from Ingersoll. This time Reed Bowles got the start. Both teams battled hard until a goal mouth scramble slipped past the Ingersoll netminder with 35 seconds left in the first.
Midway through the second they found the equalizer but Stratford continued to press for the go ahead marker. With a minute and a half remaining in the third Cassone, at the end of a long shift, found the back of the net to give the Warriors a 2-1 victory. Bowles made several great stops for the 'W'.
That set up a match with the hometown Dorchester Dragons Saturday night. A win would secure top spot in the pool. Brosens got the start and was called upon to make some big saves. With just over four minutes left in the first, Chambers danced and weaved up the side boards before dishing it across to Cole Hishon. He found Cassone out front and he tapped it home for the 1-0 lead. The teams exchanged chances until 4:18 of the second when the Dragons were able to find a way to break through the defence and slide it past Brosens. The timekeepers missed starting the clock and a full shift later, but only four seconds later on the game clock, Kibedi took a pass from Blain and fired a snapshot on net that caroomed off several bodies out front and possibly Hishon before eluding the netminder. Then with 22.9 seconds left, Owen Hunt kept it in the zone and slipped it across to Kibedi, he found Blain down low and Blain made a slick pass to DeBoeck. His shot was stopped but Bridges was there to snap it home for a 3-1 advantage after two periods. Early in the third, Taten Mikel sealed the win when he stole the puck and fed Chambers who dished it across to Mark Martin. He cut inside and rifled a shot five hole for a 4-1 victory. Brosens wasn't busy but he made timely stops to preserve the win.
On October 30, the Warriors faced Southwest in the semifinals. It was a nail biter that kept fans on the edge of their seats. Bowles got the start and made several key stops especially early. In the second, Mikel and Brenzil combined to set Mark Martin up and he slammed it home for a 1-0 lead. Moments later Owen Hunt held the line and Hishon picked it up and ripped a shot high glove side unfortunately the netminder snagged it. Soon after Chambers rang one off the post as the Warriors really turned up the heat. Early in the third, Brenzil was hammered to the ice with a vicious hook and when no penalty was signaled it seemed to fire up the Warriors. After a nasty slash put the Warriors on the power play, Chambers was hooked off his skates into the end boards handing the Warriors a 5-on-3 power play. Then with 11:38 remaining deGraaf got it started with a rush and then Hishon was there to flip it over the goalie for a 2-1 lead. Two minutes later deGraaf drove down the left side and cut inside and backhanded a beauty past the netminder for a 3-1 lead. Cassone added an insurance marker late after the setup by Brenzil. Bowles made some huge saves in the 4-1 victory.
The final turned out to be a rematch with Ingersoll. Brosens got the start and made some crucial saves. The Warriors definitely controlled play but a hot goaltender kept Ingersoll in it as Stratford had a 28-4 shot advantage.
Despite the 0-0 score it was a thrilling game with some awesome passing displayed that the boys will hopefully be able to utilize the rest of the season. There were several glorious chances to score as a result. It was a complete team effort throughout the game and the tournament with fantastic defence by the defenders and the forwards who came back to help as necessary. When it came to the shootout, Chambers was denied, and then Brosens closed the door at our end. The second Stratford shooter, Brenzil, raced in and rifled a shot into the top corner. Brosens denied the second shooter and when Hishon's shot was stopped, it came down to the third Ingersoll shooter and Brosens. He rose to the challenge again with a thrilling pad save on the final shooter to seal the 1-0 win.
Having both Nolan Miller and Cameron Parsons on the bench with them, especially in the final gave the boys a huge mental boost.
The team is back in action November 5 in the first of three straight home games. The London Bandits are at the Molson Arena at 7 p.m. and the Sarnia Junior Sting are at the Allman Arena at 5:30 p.m.
Submitted by Elaine Pennington