Who
doesn’t want to spend Valentine’s Day at the hockey arena? The Scotiabank Bantam LL parents decided to
forgo their romantic nights out and the chance of any further offspring and
took their boys to the one-day Minto Tournament in Harriston on Saturday,
February 14th. The boys made it up to
their parents by skating away with the B division first place trophy.
GAME 1 – vs. Mount Forest @ 8:45 am
The boys were keen to get the first goal of the tournament and just minutes into the game Eric DEARING did just that by deking his way around several of the Mount Forest players and popping the puck right past their goalie and into the net. Defenseman, Nic BAKER, assisted. Halfway through the period Jackson MACARTHUR took his position in front of the net and continued to stay open and ready for the pass. Zeke KOERT delivered that pass and MACARTHUR placed it in the net. Des FINLAYSON also assisted with that goal. As the period neared the final few minutes, Anthony BEUERMAN fed the puck to their net with the assistance of Connor LOUWAGIE, but their opponents would not give up as a Mount Forest player flew towards our goalie, Reid DEGROOT, with every intention of scoring only to be robbed of the puck by LOUWAGIE who then skated it back into their zone. FINLAYSON provided resilient defensive moves all period which aided in the 3 to 0 score at the end of the first.
Seconds into period two, Mitchell had the advantage but chose to keep the score the same. DEGROOT was provided a little more action and worked hard to keep Mount Forest at bay. Back in front of their net, KOERT fired the puck, it ricocheted off the net, flew up towards the ceiling, the whistle blew and it hit the crossbar and landed neatly behind the goal line. Bummer! KOERT would not give up and moments later, with the assistance of Jake MONDEN and BAKER, he hurled the puck directly to the back of the net ensuring that the goal would count this time. The Mitchell boys played as a well-oiled machine all game. Kyle WETTLAUFER prevented many a breakaway with his incredible speed and ability to outskate anyone who tried to beat him to the other end of the rink. Kurtis FORREST worked hard all game as well, setting up plays and making perfect passes in front of the net. Another speedy guy, DEARING, who is no stranger to getting a breakaway, also attempted to add to the scoreboard, but Mount Forest had a very talented goalie and worked hard to keep his team in this game. The scoreboard read 4 to 0 us.
Fifty six seconds into period three a ruckus broke out in front of the Mount Forest net. Rebound shot after rebound shot was drilled at their goalie when finally BEUERMAN scored. Triston BEEHLER and LOUWAGIE were right there to assist with this goal. They lined back up at the red line and nine short seconds later BEEHLER and BEUERMAN took that puck right back to their opponent’s net and BEUERMAN got his hat trick! (Sadly, neither BEUERMAN’s dad nor his sister was willing to give up their own hats to throw on the ice). Action continued to go back and forth but Mitchell kept the upper hand despite quite a few visits to the penalty box. MACARTHUR scored the final goal for his team unassisted partway through this final period. Undoubtedly everyone was hopeful DEGROOT was going to get another shutout, but Mount Forest screwed that up by scoring on us with less than five minutes on the clock. The buzzer sounded and Mitchell skated away with a 7 to 1 win!
Player of the game was awarded to Nic BAKER for his awesome and never ending defensive abilities. BAKER is a rock solid defenseman who continually helps his team not only by preventing shots on net, but also by delivering a wicked slap shot from time to time! Congratulations Nic!
GAME 2 - vs. TNT (Alliston) @ 2:45 pm
After a bit of a break, the boys were back on the ice to meet up with the very tall players of the TNT team. TNT was fast and they kept DEGROOT busy, but despite the initial intimidation, Mitchell managed to keep the score of this game close. TNT won the first period 2 to 0. We did, however, tie for minutes spent in the penalty box.
In the second period, Mitchell had several opportunities to score but could not get that puck between the pipes not even with a 5 on 3 advantage that lasted for nearly two whole minutes. TNT had one player ejected from the game for a “checking from behind” infraction and much like the first period we tied them for minutes spent in the sin bin. Nate BAKER did manage to get the puck away from this competitive team and took off for his breakaway but their goalie stopped him in his tracks and the score remained 2 to 0 for them.
After a sluggish couple of periods, Mitchell decided to get into this game. Once again they were evenly matched minute for minute penalty wise. Mitchell hammered TNT’s goalie this period. LOUWAGIE and DEARING both had beauty shots on net, but the one we thought was going in for sure was the mighty slap shot that Ben HART drilled at their net but, amazingly, it was blocked. Finally, the threesome of KOERT, MACARTHUR and MONDEN ascended onto their net, with just 3 minutes and 51 seconds left on the clock, and MACARTHUR scored the first goal of the game with the assistance of his two line mates. The boys were now hungry for one more goal which would put them in the A division. KOERT passed the puck to BEEHLER but their goalie caught that shot. Mitchell then had the advantage and they dug deep. They kept the puck in the TNT end and worked hard maneuvering the puck around and providing shot after shot, but despite their last ditch effort they just could not make up for lost time and the game ended in a 2 to 1 loss.
Player of the game was awarded to team captain and centre man Zeke KOERT for his constant persistence on the ice. KOERT never gives up. He gives 100% from the beginning to the end of each and every game he plays. He is an amazing role model for the rest of his team and a pure joy to watch! Congratulations Zeke!
B DIVISION FINAL GAME – vs. Seaforth @ 5:40 pm
Mitchell took control of their final game of the day in the first period as Nate BAKER scored for his team with the assistance of DEARING and HART. They kept their lead and the scoreboard read 1 to 0 us at the end of the first.
In the second, both teams played hard and kept the action going in both ends of the rink. Hayden ADAIR continued to work hard defensively and help prevent Seaforth from scoring. The period remained scoreless for the majority of these 10 minutes, until KOERT decided to pad our lead with another goal. MONDEN and MACARTHUR were right there to assist with this goal and the period ended 2 to 0 us.
Mitchell continued to work as a team during the final 15 minutes of the day. LOUWAGIE smacked his stick on the ice convincing the unknowing Seaforth player to pass the puck to him; he fed the puck to their goalie, but could not get it in the net. Shortly thereafter MACARTHUR did manage to acquire a shorthanded goal with the assistance of whom else, KOERT. FORREST also tried to get in on the action, but in spite of the relentless action we were giving the Seaforth goalie he stayed on his toes and warded off many of our shots. He could not get them all, however, as HART went in and scored with the assistance of Nic BAKER and BEUERMAN. The score was now 4 to 0 us. Will DEGROOT get his shutout or will Seaforth score? A Seaforth player took advantage of a loose puck in the final moments of the game and headed down the ice for his breakaway. DEGROOT, who is playing in his hometown with several of his friends in the stands cheering him on, blocked their shot on net with ease and clinched the shut out with a score of 4 to 0 us. We are the B Division Champions!!!
Player of the game was awarded to Reid DEGROOT. DEGROOT is an import from Harriston. He has been an amazing asset to our team. He has only been playing net for a few years, but you would think he has been doing this all his life with the amount of talent he possesses. He only let in three goals during this tournament which is really no surprise. Congratulations Reid and thank you for travelling so much to play with our team.