Nov 06, 2018 | lmusselman | 494 views
Silver at Silver Stick Tournament
The Stratford Canadian Tire Bantam Rep Warriors competed at the Stratford AA Regional Silver Stick Tournament this past weekend.
The Warriors played two games on Friday and another two round robin games on Saturday. In the opener, the Warriors faced the Duffield Devils from the Greater Toronto Hockey League (GTHL). Duffield scored twice in the opening period of the tournament, while the Warriors answered once. Duffield scored the lone goal of the second period to take a two goal lead. Despite outshooting the Devils 36-20, the Warriors could not get another past the opposing netminder and dropped the first game 3-1.
In game 2, the Warriors played the Tecumseh Eagles from the Ontario Minor Hockey Association (OMHA), which was a tough challenge given it was the Warriors’ second game of the day and the opener for the Eagles. After a scoreless opening period, the Warriors peppered the Eagles goaltender with 21 shots, scoring three times. The Warriors added another 3 goals in the final frame and finished with a shot advantage of 41-25 to earn the 6-0 shutout and even their tournament record at 1-1. Russel Sebben and Curtis Ball combined for the shutout.
On Super Saturday, the Warriors faced fellow Alliance Hockey opponents the Woodstock Jr. Navy Vets and then the Kitchener Jr. Rangers. In the morning game against the reigning Alliance AA Champions from Woodstock, neither team was able to manage an opening period goal and shots on goal were at a premium with the Vets getting 5 shots on goal against the Warriors’ 3. The Warriors scored the lone goal in the middle frame and then went up 2-0 with 5 minutes remaining in the third period. Woodstock was able to knock in a goal in the final minute on a goalmouth scramble to make the final 2-1. Ball, who is a first-year Warrior goalie from Woodstock, went the distance for the Warriors against the Jr. Navy Vets to earn the victory. The Warriors outshot the Jr. Navy Vets 23-21 in the game.
In the Warriors’ final round-robin game, the Warriors faced the Kitchener Jr. Rangers. Again, the Warriors’ faced a challenge in that it was their second game of the day, while the Rangers came in with fresh ‘first game’ legs. After a scoreless opening two periods, the Warriors scored to take a 1-0 lead just :23 seconds into the final period. The game remained that way until the Rangers scored with just under three minutes to go on another goalmouth scramble to make the final score 1-1. The Rangers outshot the Warriors 24-21 in the game. With the tie, the Warriors finished with a 2-1-1 record and earned the second seed headed into Championship Sunday.
In the Semi-final game, the Warriors drew the Alliance rematch against the Jr. Navy Vets. This time, the Warriors were able to net a goal in the opening period to take a 1-0 lead. Both teams exchanged goals in the second period, setting up a classic tournament semi-final finish. With only 2:33 remaining in the third period, the Warriors gave up their third goal of the tournament in the dying minutes of a game on another goalmouth scramble, sending the game to a 5-minute overtime period. The Warriors scored on their second shift of overtime on a Cole Lewis goal from Jonas Schmidt, sending the Warriors to the Championship game. Ball earned his second-straight victory against his hometown team in the tournament and with the victory sent the Jr. Navy Vets home early.
In the Championship game, the Warriors faced the Duffield Devils who beat the Jr. Rangers in the other Semi-final game. The Devils handed the Warriors their only defeat in the round-robin despite being outshot by a significant margin. The Devils opened the scoring late in the first, but the Warriors answered back in the final minute on a goal by defenseman Zach McCann. The Devils regained the lead early in the middle period, but the Warriors answered again to tie the game at 2-2 on a Carter goal. Just two minutes later, the Devils scored the Championship-winner to take a 3-2 lead, which stood up as the final goal of the tournament. The Warriors outshot the Devils 31-18 in the Championship game and 67-38 in the two games, but the Devils scorers were opportunistic and their goalie made several game-saving stops on both games.
Aubrey Carter and Lewis led the Warriors with 3 goals each in the tournament, Jacob Hall added two, with singles from Schmidt, McCann, Nick Houben, Tyler Wagler, Matthew Barber, Caleb Arent, and Anthony Guzvinec. Ethan Scrimgeour and Schmidt added five assists each, while Lewis and Houben each had three helpers in six tournament games. Hall, Carter, Barber, Wagler, Arent, and Drew Wilken also added an assist throughout the tournament. The Warriors finished with 15 goals in tournament and allowed 10 against in the six games. Goalies Ball and Sebben allowed one or fewer goals against in 3 of the 6 games in the tournament, with both keepers turning in their most consistent performances of the season and giving the team a chance at victory every game.
NOTES: The Warriors have now competed in three Tournaments this season, earning a berth in the Finals of all 3 tournaments including two Championships.