Congratulations to the Ancaster Bantam AE Team for bringing home silver at the Motown Cup on September 27-29, 2013.
The Reimar Forming Bantam AE Avalanche made a trip down the 401 to play in the 2013/14 Motown Cup in Detroit.
Having come off a 3-0 pre-season record and a 1-0 start to the season, the Avalanche were ready for a real test in Motown.
The Avalanche opened the tournament with a late game on Friday against the Kensington Valley Renegades. Game 1 saw balanced scoring (5 different Av’s put the puck in the net), solid defense and goaltending. The Avalanche had a comfortable 6-0 victory in game 1.
Saturday saw the Av’s face the Livonia Lancers. This contest proved to be a tighter affair. Ancaster opened the scoring late in period 2 before finding their offensive grove and skating to a 4-0 victory. Ancaster had 4 different goal scorers in this game.
The second Saturday game brought the Novi Ice cats as opponents. Behind 4 different scorers, Ancaster jumped out to a 5-0 lead before Novi beat Ancaster goalie Joey Steinbach for Ancaster's first goal against of the tournament. Ancaster went to 3-0 and a #1 seed in the semi-final with a 5-1 victory.
Kensington Valley was Ancaster semi final opponent. Ancaster made handy work of the Renegades. Earning a 5-0 victory and a trip to the tournament final. Five different goal scores were the story for Ancaster once again!
The Ancaster players were surprised to be facing the Michigan Travelers A team in the finals. Michigan was somewhat of a mystery opponent for Ancaster.
The Championship game was very much what should be expected of a championship game….high intensity, passion and excitement. Michigan scored first only to have James Balardo tie the game before the end of the first. The 2 teams battled end to end for 2 periods. Include were goalposts, great saves and missed opportunities. The final buzzer meant that the 2013 Motown Cup would be decided in overtime.
Ancaster nearly ended the game on the first shift of overtime, however a blast from the point with 3:15 remaining gave Michigan the championship. Ancaster suffers a disappointing loss but returns home with Silver.
Ancaster was undefeated in regulation time and allowed only 3 goals in the entire 5 game tournament.
Congratulations to the Bantam AE team for a tournament effort that should set the tone for a successful season.
