Nov 19, 2018 | lmusselman | 320 views
Waterloo Memorial Tournament
The Stratford Bantam Warriors, sponsored by Canadian Tire, competed in their fourth and final tournament of the season this past weekend in Waterloo.
On Friday morning, the Warriors faced the Glanbrook Rangers A to open the tournament for both teams. After Glanbrook scored the only goal of the opening period while on a power play, the Warriors responded just :49 into the second to tie the game. The Warriors added another goal late in the period to take their first lead of the game. Glanbrook knotted the game at 2-2 early in the third and despite outshooting their opponents by a margin of 34-17, the Warriors could not pull out the victory. Jonas Schmidt and Nick Houben led the offence with a goal and an assist each, with helpers from Drew Wilken and Anthony Guzvinec rounded out the scoring. Curtis Ball and Russel Sebben shared goaltending duties, with each giving up a single goal in the game.
In the afternoon game, the Warriors ran into the Flamborough Sabres AA. After Aubrey Carter put the Warriors in front 1-0 on a goal from Nick Houben, the Sabres answered to tie the game with under a minute to go in the first period. The score stood until the Sabres tuck in a goal off a rush with only :05 to go in the game to take the victory, 2-1. Curtis Ball went the distance in goal and made 22 saves look easy with great poise and focus throughout the game.
On Saturday, the Warriors needed two wins to earn a spot on Championship Sunday after the last second loss to the Sabres on Friday. In the morning game, the Warriors opponent was the Guelph Jr. Gryphons AA, who had earned a tie and a win on Friday in their games. The Warriors pounced out to a 2-0 lead on goals from linemates Schmidt and Caleb Arent. Schmidt, Cole Lewis, and Jacob Hall added assists on the Warriors’ goals. The Gryphons scored twice in the second period to knot the game at 2-2, headed into the flood. In the third, the Warriors took the lead on a Houben goal, setting up a wild finish. With only :14 seconds to go, the Warriors incurred a penalty with the face-off set deep in their own zone. The Gryphons pulled their goalie in favour of the extra-attacker, setting up a 6-on-4 advantage. With time ticking away, a Gryphon player found the puck behind the net after a goalmouth scramble and jetted around for the wrap-around. Warrior goalie, Russel Sebben, pounced from one post to the other, kicking out his right pad to deny the Gryphon player as the final buzzer sounded just a half-second later to maintain the 3-2 score. Sebben turned away 24 of 26 shots, while the Warriors fired 29 at the Gryphons keeper.
The morning win set up a ‘win and you’re in’ game for both the Warriors and the Orangeville Flyers AA in the afternoon contest. The Flyers scored twice on the power play in the opening period to take a 2-0 lead. After a scoreless second frame, the Warriors fired one by the Flyers keeper just :40 into the third on a goal by Hall, assisted by Carter. The Warriors evened the game at 2-2 with just 2:22 left on the clock on a power play goal by Arent, assisted by Drew Wilken. With their goalie out, the Warriors had several chances to take the lead, but the Flyers were able to flip one into the neutral zone to a Flyer player who pushed one into the open net and end the tournament for the Warriors. Curtis Ball saved 13 of 15 shots on net and was his usual steady-self between the pipes, while the Warriors peppered the Flyers goalie with 33 shots on net.
NOTES: With the Waterloo Tournament over, the Warriors have now completed their Tournament schedule for the season. With a final tournament record of 12-5-3, the Warriors were crowned Champions twice and Finalists once; the Warriors return to regular-season action this weekend, with a Saturday matinee in London against the GLHA Jr. Mustangs (White) and Sunday back at the Allman for a 6:30pm game against the Waterloo Wolves. Over the past 11 games, the Warriors have averaged just over two goals against per game (23 in 11 games). In the prior 23 games this season, the Warriors were allowing 3.14 GA/game. Offensively, the Warriors have averaged 3.52 GF/game this season and have six players who have scored 10 or more goals and every player on the roster has scored at least one goal this season.