After 4 games undefeated, the Atom Rep Warriors battled to win "The Golden Cup", Gold Metals
and Arena banner for the Single A Division. As a team, they had a win-filled weekend of
sportsmanship, team bonding and on-ice highlights. Thank you to all the coaches who
accompanied the boys to the tournament: Jamie Morris, Steve Ollson, Jim Bannon, Jason Harvey
and Maverick Petrie. Thanks as well to Ashley Blackburn for organizing the weekend details.
The first game was played against the Waterloo Wolves, on Friday January 17th at 11:30, held at
the Scotiabank Pond Arena. Defending in net for Stratford, was Carter Keating. The Wolves scored
the first goal in the game during the first period. There was a few penalties resulting in 4 on 4 action.
Cam Munro found the top right corner of the Waterloo net, and lit up the scoreboard for Stratford in
the second period, tying up the game at 11:44. Reid Morris took a pass from Jake Schultz, pushed to
the net and fired it past the goalie to make the score 2-1. Stratford took advantage of a penalty to
secure a last goal for the win. Griffin Harvey scored, with assists from Rowan Green and Owen
Blackburn. Carter stood strong in net, displaying some amazing glove grabs and big stops with the
pads against the Wolves. The final score was 3-1.
The Stratford Atom Reps played their second game against the Scarborough Ice Raiders, on Friday
January 17th at the Scotiabank Pond Arena. Quinn Smith was the goaltender in net for the Warriors.
Owen Blackburn was fierce, taking shots form the point and Jack Bannon kept the puck in at the line.
Stratford faced a penalty kill, which led to a goal by Scarborough. Piers Murray and Evan Hughes pushed
deep into the corners. Jake Schultlz and Reid Morris, scuffled behind the net to dish the puck out to
Hughes, who tapped in the first goal to tie up the game. The Warriors displayed quick passing and
team unity in the second period.The Warriors took advantage of a penalty play to score theri next point.
Caden Ollson won the faceoff, passed to Cam Munro who gave it to Pepper, who scored at 4:12 in the period.
Griffin Harvey took a beauty shot from the hash marks on the circle, to land a point, assisted by
Murray. Ty Jackson added his point, assisted by Ollson and Johnson. Finally, Ollson took a chance to
break to the net and scored a final point for the game at 2:03. The Warriors won the game 5-1, for
their second win in the tournament.
The third game for the Warriors, was held at Scotiabank Pond Arena, Saturday morning against
the Toronto Aeros. Gradeon Smith gave it up, and blocked shots by the Cougars, while Jack Bannon
took a few shots from the point to keep the pressure on. Nate VanBakel controlled
a loose puck and passed to Kieran Johnson, who passed to Piers Murray who took the opportunity to
score with 5.8 seconds left in the first period. In the Second period, Will Pepper and Reid Morris kept
the puck moving to their team-mates. At the 2:58 mark, Murray grabbed the puck again and
back-handed the puck, off the post and past the Aeros Goaltender to make the score 2-0 for Stratford.
The Warriors kept the pressure on and worked together to increase their score total for the game.
In the third, Murray passed to Evan Huges to Jake Schultz who scored the third goal. Caden Ollson
picked up a loose puck, passed to Murray who gave it to Pepper to fire into the net at 7:50.
Aero's responded by clinching a goal shortly after. Caden Ollson waa digging for another goal, he
had a breakway and shot one between the pipes to make the score 5-1. Cam Munro scored 6th goal
but it was renegged with 5 seconds left. The Atom Reps left the ice with a win and one step closer
to the Championship!
The fourth hockey game by the Atom Reps, was played on Saturday at 5 pm, in the Chesswood Arena,
against the Burlington Jr. Cougars White. Goaltender Quinn Smith was between the pipes, for the
game against the Cougars. The first period ended with no score. Stratford had the first few penalties
of the game, but fought hard to keep control of the game. Nate Van Bakel picked up a pass
from Rowan Green at 8:55 to score the first point in the game. At 1:49 in the third period, Stratford
secured the win with a second goal by Evan Hughes all alone. Both teams would meet to battle
it out again, during the Championship game on Sunday morning.
The boys laced up for the Championship game versus Burlington Jr. Cougars for a rematch,
on Sunday, January 19. The warriors were keen to start the action and instantly put pressure
onto the Burlington net. Netminding for Stratford was Carter Keating. Jack Bannon
and Kieran Johnson, both held strong on the blue line. Jake Schultz had a quick faceoff to
Will Pepper, who delivered to Caden Ollson who flipped the puck into the net for a 1-0 lead in
the first period. The second period saw penalty action for both teams. 4 on 4 action,
lead to a Burlington goal tieing up the game at the 5:40 minute mark. The tie was short-lived,
as defenceman Rowan Green, blasted a shot from near the point, to find the 5 hole and break
the tie and change the momentum of the game. Shortly after, Caden Ollson passed
to Will Pepper who was ready in front of the net, to shoot into the corner of the Burlington net.
With 43.6 seconds left, Nate Van Bakel banked a shot off the goalie's back, to roll into the net
and set the score at 4-1. The Atom Warriors kept the pressure on in the third
period, even with a penalty kill. Cam Munro and Pepper hustled to clear the puck out from the
zone and Griffin Harvey and Ty Jackson kept the puck moving around the boards. Reid Morris
and Schultz played close to the crease in the offensive mode. The Atom Rep Warriors played
strong to the finish and celebrated with a Atom A Championship Win, at the buzzer! They were
undefeated all tournament and made their mark for this year's Toronto Aero's Winter Challenge!
Tarra Green