Pelham SilverStick 2019
Friday December 27
The Stratford Warriors Canadian Tire Bantam Rep team played the Burlington Eagles first in the round robin silver stick. The Warriors got out to an early lead with a beauty pass from Nathan Williams up to Ethan Pearce who blew past the defenceman and ripped it top corner to make it 1-0! Burlington would get a equalizer on the powerplay to tie it up 1-1. 30 seconds later Kaden Brame would capitalize and find the back of the net, 2-1 Warriors. The 2nd period Burlington came out and tied it up again, 2-2. Garrett Spahiu would find Danny Van Straaten flying down the wing and beat the defence wide, let a bullet shot go to beat the Eagles goalie to make it 3-2! The Burlington Eagles would then score 4 unanswered goals to make it 6-3. The Warriors showed no signs of giving up and Ethan Pearce would score from the circle with a laser beam through traffic on the powerplay, to give a final score of Eagles 6, Warriors 4. The Warriors look to rebound in the next game vs St Marys.
The Stratford Warriors Canadian Tire Bantam Reps took on St Mary Rock in the 2nd game of the round robin. St Marys would jump out to the early lead in the 1st. Down 1-0 the Warriors battled back and forth with the Rock for the next period and a half, until Kaden Brame would beat the Rock goalie five hole to tie it up mid way through the 3rd. The Warriors continued to press, hitting posts and having a ton of opportunities. The Rock would get a gratuitous bounce and make it 2-1. The Warriors would pull their goalie and couldn't hold the Rock off and they would get a empty netter to make it 3-1 final. Next up for the Warriors would be the Welland Tigers Saturday morning.
Saturday December 28
The Stratford Warriors Canadian Tire Bantam Rep team would finish their round robin play versus the Welland Tigers. The Warriors would strike first with Sam Jeffrey outworking the Tigers and getting a short handed breakaway to make it 1-0 Warriors. The Warriors would get some outstanding goaltending from Thomas Sheldon to keep it a 1 goal game through the 2nd period. The Tigers would capitalize on a Warriors break down and tie it 1-1 to start the 3rd. All the Warriors would bare down and played their hearts out, until Zach Richardson would blast one top corner in the dying moments of the 3rd!! Warriors would take it 2-1 in a hard fought battle. Now the Warriors advance to the quarterfinals to play the Milton Winterhawks.
The Stratford Warriors Canadian Tire Bantam Reps would battle the Milton Winterhawks in the quarterfinals elimination round. Hoping to build off the gritty win from that morning, the Warriors came ready to play. Kaden Brame would make it 1-0 near the end of the 1st with a battle from the point on the powerplay. In the 2nd Owen Holloway would find Danny Van Straaten in the slot, who made no mistake and put the Warriors up 2-0. The 3rd period would see Kaden Brame score his 2nd of the game on another powerplay. Minutes later Ethan Pearce would cap it off with another goal to make it 4-0 Warriors! All Warriors played a great game and did all the little things right. And with the exceptional play of goaltender Liam Parsons who got a well deserved shut out! The Warriors move on to the semi's vs Burlington Eagles in a round robin rematch!
Sunday December 29
The Stratford Warriors Canadian Tire Bantam Reps faced Burlington Eagles in a semi final match up. The Warriors came out with the same tenacity as the last game and took it to the Eagles. The Warriors were all over them and played some of their best hockey to date! Owen Holloway would get the Warriors on the board first with a redirection in front from Ethan Pearce. Shortly after Sam Jeffrey would drive the net hard and lift one over the goalies shoulder to make it 2-0! The 2nd period was dominated by the Warriors as well. Ethan Pearce would make a rush short handed and blast one past the Eagles netminder to make it 3-0. Zach Richardson would forecheck his way to a turnover in front of the Burlington net and make it 4-0 Warriors! In the 3rd Kaden Brame would snipe another goal to make the lead 5-0. Thomas Sheldon was working hard for a shut out, but Burlington kept pressing and would get 1 before the games end. Warriors move on to the Silver Stick Finals with a dominant 5-1 win over Burlington Eagles. The Finals would see the Warriors take on the Welland Tigers for a trip to International Silver Stick.
The Stratford Warriors Canadian Tire Bantam Rep team would meet the Welland Tigers in the finals to conclude this rollercoaster pathway to the Championship! The Welland Tigers with much home team advantage would jump out to a 2-0 lead through the 2nd period. The Warriors looked for some push back to start the 3rd and keep the championship dream alive, and they would get it early with a wrister from Kaden Brame from the top of the circle to make it 2-1 and give the Warriors life! 4 minutes later Sam Jeffrey would outwork his opponent and find the back of the net to tie it up 2-2! Liam Parsons was able to stay in the game after getting crashed into by a Tigers rushing player. The Warriors would rally around this and Sam Jeffrey would take advantage of a Welland break down and rip home his 2nd of the night to give the Warriors the lead 3-2!! In the closing moments of the 3rd with the goalie pulled Welland would slip one in, to tie it up. Off to overtime in what was already an exhausting, hard fought game. After some tense moments back and forth, and fans on the edge of their seats. Ryan Middegaal would let a bullet go from the point and Ethan Pearce would tip it in past the Welland goaltender to make the Warriors Silver Stick Champions!!! The Warriors should be extremely proud of their play and are off to International Silverstick in Port Huron in mid January! Lets Go Warriors!!