Feb 13, 2015 | sbaia | 889 views
Erie North Shore Storm Bantam Minors - Nations Cup Tournament
The Bantam Minors head over to Troy Michigan to represent Canada in the Nations Cup Tournament.
Game 1: 11/28/2014 - Storm vs. Downriver Jets
The Bantam Minors travelled to Troy Michigan over the US Thanksgiving weekend to represent Canada in the Nations Cup tournament. The families checked into their favourite hotel, the Drury Inn, and the parents enjoyed happy hour as the team prepared for the first game in the morning by playing mini-sticks in the hallways. They were all fired up by the time they hit the ice to play the first US team, the Downriver Jets. The Storm was determined to show the Americans which country owns hockey, and they certainly did just that! Fourteen seconds before the end of the first Rebecca Misiasz got the team on the board scoring an unassisted goal which also ended up being the game winner. Halfway through the second period Daniel Price scored an unassisted goal of his own. Try as they might the Jets could not answer those goals and the Storm went into the third with a two goal lead. Things got tense when Storm tough guy Owen Stannard was sent to the box on a cross checking call giving the Jets a powerplay opportunity but the strong Storm defensive lines held them off. Team captain Franco Shaften scored next assisted by Trent Pickle and Daniel Price and then Austin Marr finished off the Storm scoring with an unassisted goal ending the game with a 4-0 victory for the Storm and a well-deserved shut-out for goalie Connor Axford. The same Jets players who were laughing when they saw two girls on the team looked on in disbelief and then skated away in defeat. Great game Storm!
After the game all the Storm families met back at the Drury Inn for a tasty pizza lunch and then the team rested up for game 2 later in the evening while the moms (and some brave dads) headed out for Black Friday bargains!
Game 2: 11/28/2014 - Storm vs. Michigan Ice Hawks
The Storm returned to the ice later in the evening to face another US team, the Michigan Ice Hawks. Still energized from their victory earlier in the day the Storm kept the momentum going as they once again scored the first goal of the game. Austin Marr got his second of the tournament scoring off a pass from KayCyn Hernandez halfway through the first period. The Ice Hawks managed to tie it up while on the power play when Trent Pickle and then Kristian Pelling were sent to the box for roughing. At the beginning of the second Trent got his revenge scoring on a pass from Franco Shaften giving the Storm the lead again. The Ice Hawks answered that goal a few minutes later tying the score once again. One minute before the end of the period Ryan Mucha got the go ahead goal off a pass from Mitchell Renaud and the Storm went into the third with a one goal lead. Both teams fought hard for the puck through the third with the Storm successfully fighting off a couple penalties but unfortunately the Ice Hawks managed to slip one more past goalie Nate Jacobs right before the final buzzer. The game ended in a 3-3 tie and while disappointed the Storm were happy to end the first day without a loss. Great game Storm!
Game 3: 11/29/2014 - Storm vs. Rochester Rattlers
The next morning the Storm headed back to the arena to face the Rochester Rattlers. This was an extremely physical and aggressive game with both teams incurring numerous penalties. In fact when the game was over an astounding 23 penalties equaling 62 minutes had been served by the two teams! The Storm tried hard and goalie Connor Axford stood on his head but they couldn’t hold off the Rattlers who finished the game with a 4-0 win. Injured player Donny White dressed for the game and was a huge help to his team serving several penalties for them throughout the game. Good effort against a very strong team Storm!
Game 4: 11/29/2014 - Storm vs. Michigan Jaguars
Later that evening the Storm took to the ice against the Michigan Jaguars. Rested up from the earlier game they were ready to face another strong US opponent. With goalie Nate Jacobs in net the Storm prepared for another physical game. The Jaguars struck first, getting on the board halfway through the first period. They managed to score again in the second but the Storm answered that goal one minute later with an unassisted goal by Franco Shaften. The Storm had several powerplay opportunities throughout the second period but were unable to find the back of the net. In the third it was the Storms turn in the box as the refs gave the Jaguars four powerplay opportunities allowing them to score two more times. The Storm finally had enough and came to life, with Jack McIntyre scoring a goal assisted by Hunter Dufour and Rebecca Misiasz. Then Colten Pavao scored next off a pass from Franco Shaften. At the two minute mark Austin Marr shot in the tying goal off a pass from Franco. By not giving up the Storm came back from a three goal deficit and finished the game with a 4-4 tie! The Storm finished the series with one win, two ties and one loss which was good enough to seed them at 3rd place for the finals! Great game Storm!
Finals: 11/30/2014 - Storm vs. Rochester Rattlers
As luck would have it the Storm ended up with the Rochester Rattlers as their opponents for the final. However they were not in the least bit intimidated by this team and welcomed the opportunity to be vindicated! Storm goalie Connor Axford took his place between the pipes and the team hit the ice. The Storm fought hard through the first but the Rattlers struck at the halfway mark. The Storm gladly answered that goal when Jack McIntyre got one past the goalie off a pass from Rebecca Misiasz. The second period saw the Rattlers score again, but Colten Pavao evened it up with a powerplay goal assisted by Austin Marr and Declan Handley. Ten seconds later Rochester pulled ahead once more and the Storm went into the third with a one goal deficit. This didn’t last long as Colten scored his second powerplay goal of the game, once again assisted by Austin, tying the game. It was a nail-biter to the end of the third as both teams aggressively fought for the puck, drawing eight more penalties and 32 penalty minutes between them! With the teams still tied at the buzzer the game went to a shoot-out. Unfortunately for the Storm the first Rochester shot found the back of the net while the Storm’s did not giving Rochester the win and the US teams enough points to claim the Nations Cup title. The Bantam Minors hated to lose this way but certainly put a scare into this team (who clearly thought they would have an easy win). The team played some great games throughout the tournament against some very strong and physical teams, showing just how tough and passionate they are about the game of hockey and had a lot of fun while doing it! Great work out there Storm!