The Ancaster Novice Flyers came away with the gold medal at the 2016 Bill Whitbread Memorial tournament in Caledon held from April 9-10.
The Flyers started the weekend with a convincing win over the Oshawa NASC Sharks 8-2. Scoring came from all lines with Thomas L, Daniel P, Matthew Y and Liam W leading the way. A strong game from the defense kept the Sharks to the outside and allowed our goalie FInn W to control the shots and hold on for the win.
Game two of the day saw the Flyers take on Bradford which proved to be a tough task. A back an forth affair finished in a 6-5 loss as the team just didn't have the same jump during their second game of the day.
Game three was a must win for the Flyers if they wanted to make it to the gold medal game. After Friday's disappointing loss, the team took it upon themselves to seize the opportunity and came up big with a 5-2 win over the TNT White Lightning. The team focused on a strong backcheck in support of their defense and were able to keep the White Lightning from putting up more than two goals.. Strong play from our D really set the tone in this game and the team was not to be denied.
The gold medal game was played in typical Novice Flyers fashion. There was plenty of action and drama for the players, fans and coaches alike as the Flyers took on Bradford in a re-match of Friday's loss. In a back an forth affair, the score remained tight throughout the entire game. Tournament leading goal scorer Thomas L set the tone early with the support of his linemates Matthew Y and Aiden O. Midway through the final period Jack B scored a top shelf backhand that sent the fans crazy. With 1 minute and 22 seconds to go and the Flyers holding onto a one goal lead, Bradford tied up the game on sneaky five hole shot. The coaching staff opted to use their timeout to reset the team's focus and get a line change in. The D core of Jake S, Liam T, Toby W, Cole G and Darcy P were tasked with shutting down Bradford's top players as they had pulled their goalie and were playing 6 on 5. The defense did their job and with less than a minute to go, Thomas L scored the game winner to put the Flyers ahead for good. An empty netter sealed the deal and the Flyers captured gold in the Novice division.
Congrats to all the players, parents and coaches on a great tournament victory.
