Dec 31, 2016 | schaput | 432 views
Wayne Gretzky International Tournament Champions 2016
Novice Tier 3 Warriors Champions at the 47th Annual Wayne Gretzky
International Christmas Tournament held in Brantford December 27-30th of 2016.
The Rheo Thompson Novice Warriors took a few days to rest after
Christmas, before heading to Brantford to take part in the annual 4 day
Christmas tournament to bring home the gold with stellar play from the
entire team.
Game 1 would have the Warriors open up against the Meadowvale Hawks. The
boys were ready to hit the ice and would show it in their play. Stratford
jumped out to an early lead and didn't look back. Maddyx Chaput would lead
the way with the hattrick, Hudsyn Chaput added a pair, while Jake Schultz
and Jack Haines added singles. Helpers on the goals were earned by Caden
Ollson, Jake Schultz and Griffin Harvey each with 2, Jack Bannon, Jack
Haines, Owen Blackburn and Hudsyn Chaput each had single assists. The final
score was a Warrior win ( 7-1 ). Player of the game was earned by Jake
Schultz demonstrating his aggresive play.
Game 2 was an early afternoon matchup against the Guelph Gryphons and the
boys were still firing from their morning game. The boys were on the board
within the first minute of play and set the tone for the game. The final
score was a dominent win for Stratford ( 7-0 ). The Warriors spread the
scoring throughout 6 players with Hudsyn Chaput leading with a pair, Griffin
Harvey, Maddyx Chaput, Owen Blackburn, Evan Hughes, and Caellum Parsons
each contributed with singles. Reid Morris and Caden Ollson would lead the
way on the helper train with 2 each, Jack Haines, Piers Murray, Fischer
MacPherson, Hudsyn Chaput, Caellum Parsons, Jake Schultz and Maddyx Chaput
earned single assists for the game. Carter Keating and Jakob Strahm shared
the duties in the net to earn the shutout, only allowing 1 goal against in
both games for day 1. Jack Haines earned the player of the game for the
Warriors as he was consistent with his focussed play all game.
Game 3 would get the boys out of bed early as the would face the Hamilton
Huskies in a 7:45am matchup. Stratford would jump out to an early 3-0 lead
at the end of the 1st period but the game was not done yet as Hamilton would
claw their way back to tie the game at 3-3 with 4:54 remaining in the 3rd
period. Hudsyn Chaput would pull the boys back in the lead at the 2:50 mark
of the 3rd and added his 4th of the game 0:20 later to pad the lead. The
final score was a win for Stratford ( 5-3 ). Maddyx Chaput netted a single
goal for the Warriors this game and assists belonged to Reid Morris and
Caden Ollson. The player of the game was earned by Evan Hughes with his
strong play winning his battles along the boards.
The 4th game of round robin play was against the Sarnia Sting. Stratford
would jump out to an early 2-0 lead on goals by Maddyx Chaput and Jack
Haines with a helper belonging to Caellum Parsons. Although Stratford played
strong, Sarnia was able to battle back and tie the game at the end of the
2nd period and score 2 more midway through the 3rd period to pull ahead and
earn the win ( 4-2 ). Stratford stayed composed and focussed on their next
game in the tournament which was a semi-final spot as they completed round
robin play in 2nd place behind the Sting with the loss. Player of the game
was earned by Piers Murray with his strong play protecting the blueline.
Game 5 was against the 3rd seed Meadowvale Hawks, for a rematch of game 1 in
the tournament play. With complete focus and intent of earning their spot in
the finals, Stratford rolled to a ( 9-1 ) victory. This was Stratford's best
play of the tournament so far as they would have 100 percent effort and
teamwork from all the boys. Goal scoring was spread through the 3 frames and
each player contributed with their roles. Carter Keating was strong in the
net for the Warriors turning away all but 1 shot. Goal scoring belonged to
Hudsyn Chaput, Jake Schultz, Maddyx Chaput and Jack Haines started the
scoring for the Warriors. Assists belonged to Evan Hughes, Jack Haines and
Maddyx Chaput. The defence was at their best, but leading the way on the
blueline with player of the game was Owen Blackburn.
The finals were set, it would be Friday at 8:30am vs the Sarnia Sting. The
1st period was a great example of what to expect for the remainder of the
game as it was tight checking end to end affair. Stratford would get on the
board first with a goal by Maddyx Chaput, assisted by Hudsyn Chaput. They
would add to their lead with the reverse order the goal by Hudsyn Chaput
with the assist going to Maddyx Chaput to end the 2nd period leading 2-1.
Early in the 3rd, Maddyx would add his 2nd of the game to put the boys ahead
3-1 on an unassisted end to end rush. Sarnia would not quit, as they would
tie the game midway through the 3rd and 0:54 later take the lead. Stratford
would once again stay focussed and composed on their goal, the tournament
championship. The last 5 minutes of the game drew all the attention, with
Stratford pressing Jake Schultz would find linemate Hudsyn Chaput for the
equalizer at the 4:21 mark of the 3rd. Sarnia would take their timeout and
regroup, earning the Stratford team a short break. With 2:56 remaining in
the game the Warriors would find the go ahead goal on some great passing
from the line of Jake Schultz, Hudsyn Chaput and Maddyx Chaput, as Maddyx
would make no mistake on a hard low shot that would find the back of the
net. Stratford would take their timeout and setup their game plan, Owen
Blackburn and Griffin Harvey were clear on their tasks and Carter Keating
was ready to go in the net, with 0:15 seconds to go he stole the show
stopping a Sarnia breakaway to seal the win for the Warriors. Jakob Strahm
shared the duties in the net and was equally stellar in the win. Stratford
would be crowned the Champions of the tournament with the ( 5-4 ) victory.
Great motivation for the boys was sent via the way of a video message from
teammate Nate VanBakel, instructing the boys to " let's win this Stratford, you
can do it Warriors ", the message was a great demonstration of the strong team
bonding this team has gained this great season as a group of young eager players.
Next action for the Warriors will see them head to london Jan 7/17 for a
double header to face both West London White and Black teams.