Nov 12, 2017 | MGraham | 863 views
Orillia Classic Wrap Up- Nov.10/17 to Nov.12/17
The Stratford Canadian Tire Major Bantam Jr. Warriors ventured north this past weekend, to take place in the Annual Jim Wilson Chevrolet Winter Classic Hockey Tournament, held in Orillia Ontario. The Jr. Warriors, with two round robin games Friday, and two more Saturday, were eliminated in heartbreaking fashion in the semi-final Sunday, going 3-2 overall for the tournament.
Stratford opened things up Friday morning, with a 4-0 win over the Lindsay Muskies, a score not indicative of the dominance in territorial play by the Jr. Warriors. Goal scorers for Stratford were Curtis Taylor, Owen Duiker, Caleb Musselman and Nathan Graff. Musselman also had a pair of assists in the win, as did brother Carter Musselman. Single helpers went to Braydon Tinning, Maverick Mulder, and Taylor, with Aaron Waugh picking up the shutout.
In the Friday nightcap, Stratford dropped a 5-2 decision to the Woolwich Wildcats, with Taylor and Zach Carman scoring for the Jr. Warriors. Assists went to Jack Whitehead, Will Schlotzhauer and Owen Fraser.
Stratford’s third, and final round robin game, was late Saturday afternoon, as the Jr. Warriors took on the Huntsville Otters. Positons were at stake for both squads in the Saturday evening quarter finals. In a spirited and penalty filled affair, which saw a combined 100 plus minutes in penalties, the Warriors prevailed by a slim 3-2 margin, thanks to two Carter Musselman goals. Whitehead had the other Stratford goal, with Carman, Caleb Musselman, Duiker, Erik Smith and Caelen Trupp all picking up individual helpers. The win placed the Tiremen in a fourth place tie with the host Orillia Terriers, setting up a Saturday night showdown with a berth in the Sunday afternoon semifinals at stake.
Stratford put together one of their most complete efforts of the season against Orillia, edging the host 2-1 in a thrilling shootout. Both teams went back and forth throughout the game, which remained scoreless until the 5:46 mark of the second period when Caelen Trupp snuck in from the point on a Stratford power play, and Caleb Musselman making no mistake in feeding him in the slot to put Stratford ahead 1-0. The power play tally was one of eight extra man markers of Stratford’s 14 total goals in the tournament. Taylor also assisted on the goal. The two teams continued to exchange blows until Orillia knotted things up at one late with 4:53 remaining, sending the game into a shootout to decide who was to advance against the first place Burlington Eagles. Stratford, down 1-0 in the shootout, were down to their final shot of three shooters. Caleb Musselman had to score and Aaron Waugh needed to come up with a save, to send the shootout into sudden death format, and prevent the Jr. Warriors from going home. Musselman made no mistake and Waugh closed the door to keep the shootout alive, a shootout that ended in victory for Stratford victory thanks to defenceman Will Schlotzhauer, who made no mistake with a top shelf wrist shot to put the Warriors ahead to stay, as Waugh made the save on the Terriers final shootout attempt.
The stage was set for Sunday’s semi-final, against one of the top OMHA Tri County teams, the Burlington Eagles. Burlington coasted through round robin play without allowing a goal, and things did not start well for the Jr. Warriors, who found themselves down 2-0 very early in the second period. Stratford refused to roll over though, and at the 11:36 mark of the second, Curtis Taylor scored on the power play, with Caleb Musselman and Carter Musselman assisting. Stratford turned up the intensity level, and in a continuation of Saturday night’s effort, found another gear and by the 14:30 mark of the final period, found themselves ahead 3-2 thanks to Braydon Tinning and Carter Musselman goals. Tinning’s tying goal was assisted by Keegan Riehl and Taylor, while Musselman was set up by Trupp. The Eagles bounced back to tie things at three shortly after, but another clutch Schlotzhauer goal with just over seven minutes remaining put Stratford ahead again, 4-3.
With just 12 seconds remaining in the game, Burlington put home the equalizer, knocking home a loose puck in a wild goal mouth scramble, and knotting the game at four, sending Stratford to their second shootout in less than 12 hours. A berth in the tournament finals was waiting for the winner and each team had three shooters, but Stratford could not solve the Burlington net minder, while the Eagles managed to put one behind Aaron Waugh, ending the tournament for Stratford. Waugh had an outstanding game for the Jr. Warriors.