The ‘07 Major Peewee Rep team, sponsored by Scotiabank left it all on the ice this weekend and came away with the gold at Silver Stick.
Game one saw the Warriors take on the Kitchener Jr. Rangers. Zack Irvin got the call in net, making timely saves and earning the shut out. Stratford’s Ryan McGee opened the scoring early in the game, assisted by Dawson White and the boys didn’t look back. Grady Murphy netted two, both assisted by Blair Stokes, while Griffin McGregor and call up Liam Ollson both added single markers. Solid work on the blue line from Austin Musselman and Blake Hodgson kept the Rangers off the scoreboard.
The second pool play game pitted the Warriors against a large Windsor Jr Spitfires team. Windsor struck first with five minutes left in the first, but Carter Petrie fired one, assisted by Colin Schultz in to close out the period tying the game. Second period action saw Petrie capitalize on a feed from McGee, giving Stratford a 2-1 lead. Murphy found the back of the net late mid-way through the game, assisted by Aaron Green. Huge pressure from Windsor in the third saw Stratford goalie Ryan McGill with some clutch saves while Zach Schultz and Rylan Hall were rock solid on the back check. Late in the game Schultz netted an unassisted goal on the power play giving Stratford the 4-1 win.
In their final pool play game the Warriors battled the undefeated Milton Winterhawks. With each team looking to secure first place in their pool it was a solid showdown on both ends of the ice. Milton struck first, sliding one in past Irvin but Stratford responded quickly with a power play goal off a rebound from Murphy, assisted by Petrie. In the second period the Winterhawks took the lead again and their red hot goalie turned away the Stratford snipers again and again. The Warriors found themselves fighting hard on the penalty kill with Griffin McGregor fighting hard to hold off the Milton power play. Finally, in the dying seconds of the game with the extra attacker Ryan Gansevles tipped in a shot from Petrie, assisted by Schultz to tie the game 2-2 and securing a first place pool play finish.
Semi-final action had the Warriors going toe to toe with the Glancaster Bombers for a spot in the finals. The first two periods saw both teams going end to end and netminder McGill standing on his head to keep Stratford in the game. Finally in the third period Blair Stokes fired in a beauty, assisted by Schultz and Petrie for the lone goal of the game. Outstanding work from the defence and McGill, kept the Bombers off the board despite intense pressure in the dying minutes of the game.
In the finals the Warriors found themselves up against a tough Hamilton Huskies team, the same squad that handed the Warriors their first loss of the season. Looking for some redemption the Warriors fought hard end to end. Hamilton struck first, capitalizing on a power play opportunity. In the second period Stratford finally tied the game on their own power play with Griffin McGregor ripping in a feed from Blair Stokes. As both teams looked for the go a head goal, the defensive work of Rylan Hall, Aaron Green, Austin Musselman, Blake Hodgson, Zach Schultz and Ryan Gansevles held off the Huskies. Netminder Zack Irvin turned away their snipers and kept Stratford in the game. Finally, in the third period Carter Petrie fired one in giving the Warriors a 2-1 lead. Irvin continued to hold strong despite pressure from Hamiton in the dying moments of the game.
This regional Silver Stick win has given the Warriors a spot in the International Silver Stick tournament later in the season.
Congratulations to team members: Austin Musselman, Rylan Hall, Blair Stokes, Grady Murphy, Nathan Siebert, Aaron Green, Dawson White, Ryan Gansevles, Blake Hodgson, Griffin McGregor, Colin Schultz, Ryan McGee, Zach Schultz, Carter Petrie, Ryan McGill, Zack Irvin and affiliate players Liam Ollson, Dylan Abel. Coaching staff: Tim Schultz, Chris Musselman, Trevor Sauder, Scott Petrie, Scott Siebert and Jackie Hall.
Upcoming Action~
Stratford will battle it out for first place on the AA side against with two home games:
Thursday Nov 7- 7:00pm vs Burlington Jr. Cougars Blue (RBC)
Saturday Nov 9- 6:45pm vs Waterloo Wolves (Molson)