Between Christmas and New Years, Stratford’s Minor Bantam squad travelled to St Catharines to take part in the Vic Teal Tournament. With low registration of the Minor Bantams age group the “Single A” ranked Warriors were bumped into
the “Double A” division.
Stratford faced off with the Cheektowaga Warriors for the first game. The high speed game found Stratford playing quite a bit of the first frame in their own end but would even up the pressure in the second. Cheektowaga scored the first goal but 5 minutes later while short handed Mark Pyzowski would steal the puck at the Cheektowaga’s blue line, break to the net and score to tie it up 1-1. Stratford would keep pace but with less than 5 minutes left in the 3rd period, two Cheektowaga shots would find the back of the net to end in a 3-1 loss. Jesse Merkel was impressive throughout the game making many big saves.
The second game of the day was against the local club, The Garden City Falcons. Once the puck hit the ice, both teams were on the hunt for a shot. Stratford had great pressure and outshot the Falcons goalie who was the difference maker as the game ended as a 1-0 loss. Goalie Koen Gerber was on point making several key saves.
The last game of round robin was against the Niagara Falls Flyers. A fast, scrambly and high scoring game led to a big win for Stratford. Scoring for Stratford in the 9-6 win was; Nate Framst (2), Dylan Fischer, Jackson Campbell (2), Quinn Appel, Cole Humphrey, Mark Pyzowski and Nathan Gibb with assists going to; Cole Humphrey (2), Owen Gaylor (2), Dylan Fischer (2), Mark Pyzowski, Ben Fizell, Nathan Gibb, Colton Kuepfer, Kaleb Martin, Gabe Emms, Jericho McNichol and Beckham McLeod.
In the Semi finals the Warriors met up with the Garden City Falcons for a rematch. Stratford came out skating at full speed and Ben Fizell scored in the first minute of the opening frame. On Fizell’s next shift, his shot that got past the goalie was called off by the ref. The Warriors continued to pressure the Falcons and pepper their goalie but fell behind 3-1 by the end of the second period. From the moment the puck dropped in the third period, it was game on for the Warriors, the boys would grind and fight their way to the net with Jericho McNichol, Gabe Emms and Mark Pyzowski all finding the back of the Falcons net and would end the game in dramatic fashion with a 4-3 victory. Assists on goals were; Cole Humphrey (2), Nathan Gibb and Nate Framst.
The Warriors met Cheektowaga again in the finals on Sunday. Stratford worked hard and made many quality shots but only got past the goalie once, Mark Pyzowski took a pass from Dylan Fischer and went 5 hole. The boys displayed an impressive amount of strength, determination and skill in the 5-1 loss and played with heart throughout the tournament.