Jan 16, 2012 | gquenneville | 1405 views
week-end reveiw
Erie Storm Minor Atom Hockey Team reaches the Semi-Finals of the International Silver StickThis past weekend the Erie Storm South Shore Dental Minor Atom team packed up their gear and headed to Newmarket to play in the International Silver Stick Finals. The International Tournament features the best “A” teams in Ontario and the United States.
Game 1 had the Storm facing the Northern Region Champion Nickel City Huskies from Sudbury . The boys started fast and furious and put pressure on the Huskies. They finally broke through on the scoreboard when Ethan Robinson banged home the first goal with assists going to Heath Mckee and Shannon Olson. In the second period, the boys increased the pressure and were rewarded with their second goal of the game by Caden Gomes with an assist going to Alex Riddiford. Four minutes later, the Storm made it 3-0 on a breakaway goal by Caden Gomes. The Huskies made it 3-1 early in the third period but were unable to get another shot past Jackson Ford. Final - 3-1 Storm.
Game 2 had the Storm facing the division favourite Oakville Rangers. The Rangers were hungry for victory and came out of the gates motoring. The boys weathered the Rangers storm but fell behind 1-0 at the end of the first period. Early in the second period the Rangers made it 2-0 on a deflection. Our boys never quit and made it 2-1 on a goal by Caden Gomes assisted by Cole Dumouchelle. The Rangers made it 3-1 early in the third period but our boys did not quit. The TSN turning point in this game came halfway through the third period when Evan Fields banged in on the forecheck, gave up his body for the team, and freed up the puck for Matthew Bradfield who quickly pounced on the loose puck and found Caden Brennan who buried a wrist shot from the slot to make it 3-2 . With the momentum now shifted, Shannon Olson found an opening and buried a shot from the top of the circle to make it a 3-3 final. After day one, the Storm were tied for first in the division with the powerful Rangers.
Game 3 had the Storm pitted against another division favourite, the Whitby Wildcats. This was a do or die game for both teams as Oakville won their third game and thus the winner of this game would move on to the Semi-finals. Whitby started strong and our boys were under pressure . The defence of Josh Parks, Hayden Carrier, Brendan Jenner, Mckinnon Woolner and Luca Quenneville and goaltending of Jackson Ford kept the Wildcats at bay and the first period ended 0-0. The pressure was mounting and the spectators for both teams were tense. Not to be outdone by the Whitby supporters, the Storm parents and siblings kept the spirit of the Storm alive in the stands. Early in the second period , Whitby struck first to make it 1-0. The Storm boys did not back down and at the 8:29 mark of the second period, Shannon Olson took a breakout pass from Luca Quenneville, skated over the blueline and stepped into a wrist shot that rifled into the top corner making it 1-1 after two periods. The game went back and forth until Ethan Robinson stole the puck behind the Whitby net, passed to Shannon Olson who found Heath Mckee in the slot who buried home the go ahead goal to make it 2-1. The Whitby Wildcats did not give up but we unable to net the equalizer. The final was 2-1 Storm and we were headed to the Semi-Finals.
The semi-final match found us playing the tournament favourite Cobourg Cougars. The boys skated hard but found the Cougar pressure tough to handle and we fell behind 2-0 after the first period. Cobourg kept the pressure on and won the game 5-0. Cobourg went on to win the tournament final. The boys enjoyed a weekend of hockey, mini-sticks, swimming and pin swapping with the other teams at the tournament. The next mission for our boys is the OMHA regional tournament in two weeks in St. Thomas that will have another group of tough competitors for the Storm boys. Go Storm Go !