Jan 15, 2016 | Rob Smithson | 791 views
Atom HL Canadiens bring home the Championship Banner!!
Recently, our Ancaster Atom HL Canadiens traveled to the Niagara peninsula to take part in the International Silver Stick tournament. We knew the kids would be up against some stiff competition, as we were slated to play against some Major Atom HL teams, as well as some AE and select teams from around the province.
To fill our 13 man roster, we were granted permission to add one additional player from the Ancaster HL pool, and were lucky enough to get Andrew Mutton approved to complete our lineup for the tournament. A big thank you to the Mutton crew for joining us this past weekend, Andrew was a huge helper in this tournament.
Our first game saw us up against the Kemptville Panthers, a major atom team from the Ottawa area. The boys played well, holding a 2-1 lead into the third period. The highlight for this game, was watching George Aitas fire one past the Kemptville goalie, for his first goal of the season, and what would have proved to be the game winner but for a few bad bounces and some interesting 'non-calls' that led to the panthers taking the lead and never looking back.
The next two games were equally as tough, but we saw a great team effort from all the players, with DePaola, Mutton and Smithson leading the way, not only on the scoring sheets, but through their continued battles on the ice as well. The skill level of the other two teams varied, as one was a regular house league team (like ours), and the other was a Select Team which played a very rough run and gun style of play. Our kids quickly adapted, when they realized the referees had 'put the whistles away' and were able to bump and grind it out quite well.
At the end of three games, we found ourselves in a 'win or go home' semi final position, and the boys came out firing on all cylinders... DePaola led the way with 3 goals and 3 assists, while Mutton and Smithson netted two goals each, on the way to a 7-1 routing of the Belmont Rangers; setting the scene for a 7:30 am gold medal game on Sunday morning.
We knew that this would likely be one of our toughest matches of the tournament, especially with the early morning travel, and the absence of Mutton (he had house league commitments to his own team). The kids came out pumped up and ready to go, and were all over the Pelham team from the first puck drop. This game saw George score his second goal of the season, and add two more assists, leading the team to a 9-3 win and the championship banner!
All in, the kids averaged just over 5 goals per game, which is a fantastic offensive effort, and the kind of play that we needed, to allow us the success we had. Notables included DePaola, who led the team with 12 goals and 8 assists, Smithson who netted 8 goals and 6 assists, Mutton with 4 goals and 1 assist and George with 2 goals and 2 assists. Mason Ault, Ben Marshall, Evan Rutherford and Devyn Bhatia all found there way onto the scoring sheet as well, with a handful of assists.
Great job by all the boys, now let's get ready for this weekend, where we've got 2 games back in Ancaster; Saturday against the Stars and Sunday vs. Lighting. See you all tomorrow!!!