Feb 23, 2014 | sbaia | 3124 views
Erie North Shore Storm Peewee Majors – 02/15/14 to 02/17/14 - Presidents Day Cup Tournament
David takes on Goliath as the Storm heads to Troy Michigan for the Presidents Day Cup tournament!
02/15/14 – Game 1 - Storm vs. USA Eagles
Saturday morning the Storm met up at Fraser Hockeyland arena for game one of the Presidents Day Cup tournament. They would face the USA Eagles, a team that was rated 4th in all of the U.S. Some of these kids were also a head taller than the refs! The Storm knew they would have a tough fight on their hands. Connor Axford took his place between the pipes and the Storm prepared to take on this strong opponent. It didn’t take long for the Eagles to show why they are ranked so high as they managed to score 4 unanswered goals against the Storm before the end of the first period. The Storm stayed focused and did not let this get them down coming back in the second period fired up and determined to give them a run for their money. The Eagles scored once more at the top of the period and then two minutes before the buzzer Kristian Pelling solved the Eagle goalie with an unassisted goal getting the Storm on the board. In the third the Storm continued to play strong but the Eagles once again dominated the play and scored three more times, giving the Storm a loss of 8-1 in game one. Kristian Pelling, Franco Shaften and Ryan Mucha all spent time in the box as they valiantly attempted to protect the Storm net by preventing more Eagle goals. Goalie Connor Axford was hammered with shots throughout the entire game making incredible saves and preventing the Eagles from running up the score any higher. The entire team did a fantastic job, especially in the second period, as they faced one of the top ranking teams on the continent without ever giving up!
02/15/14 – Game 2 - Storm vs. Belle River Canadiens
Saturday afternoon the Storm were the visitors against their Bluewater opponents the Belle River Canadiens AA team. The Storm were very anxious for their first win and hit the ice with goalie Nate Jacobs defending the net. The first period both teams played hard as they attempted to be first on the board. Just when it looked like the period would end scoreless Belle River squeaked one past the goalie 19 seconds before the buzzer. In the second the Storm played strong defensively preventing any more Belle River goals but could not find the back of the net themselves. In the third Belle River managed to score three more times before Owen Stannard finally solved the goalie scoring on a pass from Kristian Pelling to get the Storm on the board and deny the Belle River goalie a shutout. Despite having several powerplay opportunities in the third the Storm were unable to take advantage of them and the game ended in a 4-1 loss.
Right after the game most of the team and their families went to Airtime Trampolines and had a great time as they played games on the wall to wall trampolines in the facility. Then it was back to the Drury for Happy Hour, which was very much needed!
02/16/14 – Game 3 - Storm vs. Soo Jr. Lakers AA:Cooper Dental
Sunday morning the Storm was back at Fraser Hockeyland ready to face the Soo Jr. Lakers AA: Cooper Dental. This was a new day for the Storm and they were determined that it would be better than the previous day! Connor Axford once again took his place in net and the Storm didn’t waste any time proving that they were back in the game! Ethan Litster scored the first goal of the game off a pass from Rebecca Misiasz three minutes into the game. Austin Marr scored next on the powerplay, assisted by Kristian Pelling and Ryan Mucha. In the second period the Storm once again controlled the play as Daniel Price scored off a pass from Ethan Litster at the halfway mark. In the third period the Storm continued dominating the play scoring three more unanswered goals! The first was scored by Kristian Pelling assisted by Rebecca Misiasz. The second was another powerplay goal from Austin Marr for his second of the game. He was assisted by Ethan Litster and Kristian Pelling on the goal. The final goal was scored by Ethan, with his second of the game, assisted by Adrian Ridsdale and Ryan Mucha, giving the Storm a 6-0 win and Connor Axford a much deserved shutout! The Storm played smart, only going to the box three times while their opponents went a total of six times. It was a great win and also a much needed win for the Storm! They would now go to the semi-finals in third place playing the Belle River team rather than the dreaded Eagles!
02/16/14 – Game 4 – Semi-Finals - Storm vs. Belle River Canadiens
Sunday night the Storm was still fired up from their big win earlier in the day against Cooper Dental as they prepared to face Belle River once again. The winner of this semi-final game would play against the winner of the USA Eagles vs Soo Jr. Lakers:Cooper Dental game for the championship. It was Nate Jacobs turn in net and the Storm wanted nothing more than to beat this team and get another big win! The first period both teams played intensely as they struggled to solve the opposing goalie first. The period ended scoreless and the teams regrouped to go into the second. One minute into the period Belle River got one past the goalie to take the lead. The Storm did not give up and it paid off when Daniel Price got the tying goal two minutes before the end of the period, assisted by Kristian Pelling and Trent Pickle. In the third Belle River desperately tried to get the go ahead goal but goalie Nate Jacobs would have none of that and practically stood on his head as he defended to Storm net. The third period ended in a 1-1 tie and both teams prepared for overtime. Once again the action was intense with the fans on the edges of their seats as both teams fought for possession of the puck and scoring opportunities. As the end of the period approached it started to look like the game would be decided in a shootout. Then during the last minute of play KayCyn Hernandez tied up the Belle River defense in the corner allowing Mitchell Renaud to free up the puck, pass it to Kristian Pelling who skated down the ice, passed it to Austin Marr who happily shot it past the Belle River Goalie giving the Storm the win! As the team and the fans went wild a stunned Belle River team looked on, realizing they had just been knocked out of the tournament and now the Storm would move on to the finals! A great team effort helped the Storm come back and win these two important games! Fantastic job and well deserved win Peewee Majors!!!
02/17/14 – Game 5 Final - Storm vs. USA Eagles
Monday morning the Storm once again returned to Fraser Hockeyland Arena, this time for the championship game! The team was still pumped up after the two big wins on Sunday but knew going into this game they would be facing a very strong and determined opponent – a classic David vs Goliath scenario! The Eagles were obviously not used to losing and had won all four games of the tournament. Connor Axford took his place in net and the Storm prepared for battle! The first period of this game went much better than their previous meeting as the Storm played their hardest to keep the Eagles off the board. Then four minutes before the period buzzer Austin Marr solved the Eagle goalie assisted by Robbie Brush and Ethan Litster to give the Storm the lead! The refs then decided to give the Storm two penalties back to back giving the Eagles a 5 on 3 advantage allowing them to score and tie up the game. In the second period the Storm once again took the lead when Kristian Pelling scored off a pass from Mitchell Renaud. The Eagles answered that goal but then Daniel Price quickly gave the Storm the lead back scoring off a pass from Trent Pickle. The refs continued to give out questionable penalties to the Storm and the team played hard to fight them off. In the third period the Eagles once again managed to tie the score and both teams dug in to try and capture the lead before the buzzer. The refs then sealed the Storm’s fate as they called another penalty against them allowing the Eagles to score on the powerplay, giving them the lead and ultimately the win. However no one on the team felt that they had lost as they had stood up to and almost beaten this powerhouse team! These kids did a fantastic job and the families and fans were so very proud of them! After the final buzzer the awards ceremony took place at center ice and each Storm player was awarded a beautiful Presidents Day Cup Finalist medallion to add to their collections, and the team received a trophy that will be displayed in the Harrow arena. All in all it was a very successful tournament for the team! Special thanks to our very skilled and talented goalies, Connor Axford and Nate Jacobs who kept us in the tournament all the way, and also to the rest of this very gifted team, Kristian, Robbie, KayCyn, Ethan, Owen, Ryan, Trent, Austin, Mitchell, Adrian, Franco, Daniel and Rebecca for all their hard work, skilled play and great sportsmanship this weekend. We are all very proud of you!!!