Oct 07, 2017 | Chris Holloway | 205 views
Minor Atoms Become Inaugural Earlybird Champs
The Holloway Automotive Minor Atoms went undefeated at 4-0-1 this past weekend to become champions in the first ever Stratford Warrior Earlybird Tournament.
Pool play began on Friday morning in St.Marys where the Warriors came away with a 4-4 tie against the GLHA Mustangs Purple. Scorers were Brenzil, Hish, Colston and Martin. DeBoeck with 2, Davis, Parsons and Flanny picked up helpers. The entire Defence was formidable keeping the Mustang skaters to the outside and allowing Walters time to get set to make the saves. Game 2 on Friday afternoon was a 4-2 win for the Warriors in the tight confines of Dufferin arena. Once again the D and goaltender Bowlsey were strong limiting the Navy-Vet attack. Scorers were Davis, Cassone, DeBoeck and Hish with assists to Flanny, Bridgey, Brenzil and White-Roy.
Saturday afternoon in Tavi the Warriors dominated Cambridge start to finish in a 6-1 win. Cassone, Martin and DeBoeck each tallied twice. Bridgey had 2 helpers and Bauld one. Stratford held a 37 to 9 edge in shots and Walters was strong when called upon. The 2-0-1 record in pool play seeded the Warriors as the number 1 seed and set-up a rematch with Mustangs Purple in the semis.
Saturday evenings semi-final game in Milverton was a penalty filled affair that saw Stratford persevere in a 6-3 victory. DeBoeck had his best game of the year with 4 goals and an assist. Single goals went to Hishon and Mikel. Assists to Holloway with 2, White-Roy, Brenzil, Martin, Bowlsey, and Cassone. Shots were 33 to 29 in Stratfords favour as Bowlsey clearly outplayed his Mustang counterparts.
That semi-final win propelled the Warriors into the final and a rematch with Woodstock. The boys came out fired up and Bridgey scored assisted by Martin, less than a minute into the game. Woodstock tied the game soon after and the period ended knotted at 1. The 2nd period was highlighted by 2 goals by Mikel with assists to Bridgey, Martin and Holloway as the Minor Atoms built a 3-1 lead. Stratford then employed some fine defensive play in the 3rd as Woodstock was unable to thwart any sort of a comeback and the WARRIORS PREVAILED 3-1.
The Coaching staff was extremely impressed with the "team-first"concept displayed over the weekend and attention to defensive play. Of particular note were Warrior wins over 2 teams that had previously beaten them in pre-season action, showing a maturation and definite improvement in overall team play.