The Terry’s Auto Service Mitchell Midget AE’s participated in the Ridgetown Groundhog Tournament over the weekend.
Parents and players traveled to Chatham on Friday for what was a weekend filled with frustrations, team bonding, character building, bruises, ejections, bone crashing hits and finally teamwork…
Our first game was played on Friday evening against the Simcoe Warriors. The boys do not see Simcoe in regular play so to play them was a great experience. Although not as spirited as some of the games played on the weekend, Simcoe gave the boys their first challenge for the weekend.
Mitchell struck first, when Jake Monden receiving the pass from Evan Morrison and Josh Bedour to start the scoring early in the first making it 1-0. Simcoe responded early in the second with their only goal and tying it at 1-1. However Morrison would soon put Mitchell back in the lead with help from both Monden and MacArthur to make it 2-1 to end the second. The trio enjoyed their first goal in the second so much, they thought they would duplicate it in the third, ending the scoring at 3-1 and giving Mitchell their first win of the tournament.
After an evening of socializing, our first game on Saturday was at 9 am when the boys would play the Lincoln Blades. Lincoln was another team that we do not see over the regular schedule (but we did watch them destroy a team the evening before).
This game was filled with testosterone, ugliness, bone crushing hits and double digit penalties and would be the game that would define our boys character going forward. The Blades came out strong and struck first in the first, ending the period at 0-1. Jake Monden would tie the game with help Caleb Tweddle and Joe Hill early in the second, unfortunately the Blades would add two more goals in the second as well making it 1-3 nearing the end it. With Mitchell short handed and just 26 seconds left in the second, Morrison sinks the game changer and we end the period 2-3. After the flood, Monden comes out in the third to tie the game with help from Bedour and MacArthur. Frustrations on both sides with missed calls continued as did the ugliness, however the frustrated Blades began to lose their composure and this allowed Solomon Koert to finally end the blood bath with assists going to both Monden and MacArthur ending the game 4-3 with hopes of never seeing this team again. As mentioned earlier, this game truly defined the character of the Mitchell Midget AE's, they never stopped battling, they never gave up and they worked together defining the true character and a hockey player. Well done AE’s!
After a well deserved rest, the Mitchell boys played again at 3:30 Saturday afternoon against a weaker and less skilled Norwich team. The scoring started quickly in the first with Tweddle and assists going to Connor Louwagie and Cameron Hahn. Up next was MacArthur with from Morrison and Hahn ending the first 2-0. Mitchell’s scoring was relentless with Josh Edit starting the scoring in the second with help from Koert and Cutis Chaffe. Next to add to the sheet would be the combination MarArthur, Morrison and Monden followed by Bedour, Darren Feltz and Koert followed by Monden, Tweddle and Louwagie followed by Feltz, Chaffe and Tweddle ending the second 7-0. The third would see Mitchell coasting and only adding one to the score sheet when Monden buried the puck with assists going to MarArthur and Carter Preszcator ending the slaughter 8-0.
After winning our first three games, we were headed to the semi finals Sunday morning, but who would we play? It was not long before we learned our fate, Lincoln Blades our nemesis from game two..oh great…
Well, the semi final game did not disappoint Sunday morning. It was filled with everything from game two and then some…..you could cut the testosterone and tension in the arena with a knife. With double digit penalties for both teams, the same bone crushing hits, suspensions, the chirping back and both, discussions in the stands……it would prove to be the best game of the tournament for both teams. Mitchell started the scoring in the first, when Morrison buried the 6 oz vulcanized cylindrical piece of rubber in the back of opponents net. Helping with this amazing feat were MacArthur and Hill. Mitchell was able to control the Blades and scored again, this time it was Bedour who sent the 6 oz rubber like it was fired from a howitzer from the blue line with Feltz and Hahn adding to their assists. This would end the first at 2-0. The ugliness and mayhem continued throughout the second, but the AE’s managed to hold their foes scoreless and ended the second the same as the first 2-0. The carnage and frustrations continued and was taking a toll on both teams, but in the end Mitchell was victorious 2-0 and moved onto the finals.
The final game would be between Mitchell and our league rival BCH. This game would also not disappoint the fans, as it too would be an extremely physical game with multiple penalties from both sides, but only one team would be deemed gold medal winners in the end. Mitchell started the scoring in the first with two goals. The first would be Morrison, Koert and Hill, the second would be the combination Morrison, Monden and Devin Fenwick. Although no scoring took place in the second, there was lots of action at both ends of the arena with defence playing a huge part of period two. BCH frustrations set in in the third and Mitchell was more then willing to capitalize on their mistakes. First to capitalize was Feltz with help, coming from Edit and Preszcator. Next, who was no stranger to goals on the weekend was Monden with assists going to Fenwick and Morrison. Morrison decide to get the hat trick next with MacArther and Chaffe as helpers. Finally to add more salt to the frustrated Ice Dogs wounds, Monden finished the scoring with Forrest and Chaffe getting their names on the score as well. Mitchell, wins Gold 6-0!!
Ryan Bell was beyond outstanding between the pipes all weekend. Although many shots were blocked, many hit the mark and he still managed three shut outs in five games. His play was simply incredible and completed the team effort that was demonstrated on the weekend in front of him. The boys defined many words over the past three days, courageous comes to mind, character comes to mind, tenacious comes to mind, gritty comes to mind, but I think TEAM may best define them. It is unfortunate not everyone was able to score over the weekend, but the wins were truly a reflexion by all players making the win truly a team effort.
A huge thank you to the coaching staff, Jack Chaffe, Ken Monden and Jim Tweddle. They put up with with lots of different personalities, both players and fans, and managed to channel these energies into the winning team they were this weekend. Great weekend and great tournament boys, we as parents could not be prouder of you. Thank you for a great weekend!