This past weekend Waterloo Minor Hockey and RIM Park hosted
the Waterloo Memorial Tournament and the U15 Warriors looked to shake things up
in a competitive field.
Friday morning’s opponent was the Pickering Panthers and Stratford wasted no time in establishing the tempo and pace, keeping their opponent on their heels the entire game. Dawson White opened the scoring in the first period on a bang-bang play in tight, Griffin McGregor and Grady Murphy with the assists. McGregor added to the lead in the second making a dirty dangle off a breakout pass from White. Jake Taylor found himself between the pipes in relief for Adeel Kara in the third frame with the Warriors in control 2-0. The second PP unit struck just after a penalty expired off a tic-tac-toe play from Nathan Siebert and White finding Ryan McGee out front for the goal. Blair Stokes got on the board scoring off a Panthers turnover and McGregor tallied his second of the game in tight off a rebound from a Murphy shot. The Warriors D-men Austin Musselman and Ellis Schnurr helped keep the sheet clean for the Warriors in a 5-0 win to open the tournament.
The second game the Warriors faced the Halton Hills Thunder and came out firing. They kept the heat on the Thunder goaltender most of the period but couldn’t slip one past. A couple turnovers and a couple of costly penalties had the Warriors looking to dig themselves out of a 3-0 deficit early in the second period. A power play goal by Murphy (Ryan Gansevles, Colin Schultz) got the Warriors on the board halfway through the second. Relentless pressure on the Halton defensemen had the boys knocking on the door a few more times but came up empty, the second ending 3-1 for Halton. A quick goal from the Thunder early in the third had the Warriors down 3 again, but they would clap back with a couple quick goals on a breakout pass from Ben Medhurst to McGregor who slid across the crease to bury the second, and an in tight roofer from Stokes to get to within a goal. Shots from Blake Hodgson and Medhurst almost tied things up, but it was not to be. Warriors fall 4-3.
An early Saturday morning tilt with perennial tournament foes, the Soo Jr. Greyhounds was up next for Stratford. U14 Goalie Jake Taylor made his debut start in net for the Warriors and he shone bright in the first period turning away a few great chances from the Soo forwards. Two first period power plays for Stratford came up full of shots but empty on goals, the Greyhound netminder turning away everything thrown at him to keep the score 0-0 entering the second. Liam Ollson opened the scoring off a pass from Gansevles and Colin Schultz buried one off a pass from Siebert in his office behind the net to make it 2-0 Stratford. The Soo shot back shortly after with a nifty play out front to cut it to 2-1. The Warriors found themselves on the PP a few more times in the third but couldn’t find a hole. A couple feisty odd man rushes for the Soo were turned away by Zach Schultz, Rylan Hall and goalie Taylor to keep the lead intact. A late goal by McGregor (C. Schultz) made it 3-1 and that’s how it would end. Another solid win.
The afternoon match against the highly ranked Guelph Gryphons was sure to be a test. Guelph rolled down off the opening face-off and buried the opening marker on Kara 14 seconds in. Tight checking and solid penalty kill on both sides kept shots low and the score the same – 1-0 Guelph after the first. The second found the Warriors on the PP for most of the period tallying two goals from Murphy (McGregor and C. Schultz on the first, McGregor and Gansevles on the second). Guelph snuck one in the middle of the two and went into the third locked at 2 goals a-piece. More solid neutral zone work by Stratford skaters kept things tight until Murphy broke free and sealed the hat-trick and the lead. Stokes broke free off a breakout from Schnurr and Siebert and outskated the D for a diving tap in empty netter. Always hungry, Murphy netted his fourth of the game off a pass from White on the two on one break to put a bow on it for the Warriors, sealing a birth in the Semifinals.
Burlington Eagles Blue were the Warriors semifinal opponent. Some early chances for both teams saw both get on the board right away. The Eagles scored first but were quickly answered by a goal from McGregor (Murphy). Constant O-zone pressure from Stratford had the Eagles scrambling, but just couldn’t put another one past. The second period was more of the same early as Ollson buried one through the wickets on an odd man rush, assists from McGee and Medhurst. The Warriors had the trapped Eagles flying in circles struggling to get out of their own end for the remainder of the game. McGregor capitalized on the confusion and buried one off a steal from Murphy and pass from White. Murphy smacked an empty netter as time expired and the Stratford boys were off to the finals with a solid 4-1 win.
Finals. 5-0 Burlington Eagles Gold vs. 4-1 Stratford Warriors.
The Eagles came out hard and spun one past Kara to open the scoring less than a minute in. It didn’t take long for the Warriors to retaliate, McGregor taking advantage of a D-Zone turnover and potting one to tie it up. Halfway through the frame it was McGregor and White on a two-on-one with White sniping one off the back bar to put the Warriors on top 2-1. The second period saw the Burlington team score three unanswered goals throughout a chaotic 15 minutes that limited Warrior chances. The third was more of the same and unfortunately Stratford just couldn’t push another puck past the line. An empty net goal made the final 5-2 for the bad guys. Not the finish the Warriors hoped for but hats off to all Stratford players and coaches for an entertaining weekend of hockey.
Thanks to Waterloo for hosting a fantastic tournament at one of the best venues in the Alliance.
Next Action – Tuesday November 16, 2021 – 8:30pm @ London Jr. Knights White.