Oct 28, 2019 | Bob Smith | 395 views
Atom Rep Meteors bring home the Bronze from Twin Centre October Classic
The Walkom's Valu-Mart Atom Rep Meteors were successful in bringing home the bronze medal from the Twin Centre Rep October Classic Tournament this past weekend Oct. 25-27. The Meteors came away with a 2-2 record playing teams from Tavistock, Wasaga Beach, Drayton, and Twin Centre.
Playing in Wellesley on Saturday morning, the Atom Reps faced the Tavistock Titans who just came off a win the Friday night before beating the Flesherton Golden Hawks 11-1. The first goal came early in the first period with Owen Beuermann scoring (assist Hudson Porter). Less than 5 minutes later, Landon Van Bakel snapped in a rebound (assist Austin Judge) making it 2-0. In the first minute of the second period, Van Bakel put it top shelf on the powerplay (unassisted). Halfway through the period saw Mitchell get into penalty trouble and as a result, the Titans scored on the powerplay. However, Mitchell would respond 23 seconds later, with Judge passing the puck from the corner out front to Van Bakel, putting it in the back of the net. But before the 2nd period was over, Tavistock popped in another and the period would end with the score 4-2. Mitchell scored again in the first minute of the 3rd period with Colby Faust passing to Nate Uniac who deked around 3 defenders and popped it in past the Titan goalie. Tavistock would not lay down, putting the pressure on in the last few minutes of the game. With Tavistock on the power play and their goalie pulled, the Titans scored with 44 seconds left in the game. The score would stand at 5-3 and Mitchell advanced to the next round.
On the same day, the Meteors would face the Wasaga Beach Stars (who beat the Listowel Cyclones 4-3 on Friday) at high noon. The teams were even in play throughout the game. The Stars were on the scoreboard first in the 5th minute in the first period. It could have been 2-0 if not for Carter Miller in net, stopping a breakaway attempt shortly after. In the 2nd, Mitchell answered back with Judge sidestepping a few defencemen putting the puck on net and Van Bakel slamming in the rebound. The Mitchell defence would remain strong in the game from Colby Faust, Owen Jarmuth, Ben Kelly, Blake Otten, and Isaak Smith; and Carter Miller between the pipes. Strong forechecking from Carson Brown and the rest of the forwards was also key in keeping Wasaga Beach from scoring again. At the end of regulation time the score was 1-1 which followed by a scoreless overtime of 5 minutes, 4 on 4. In the shootout, Van Bakel and Jarmuth scored (other shooters were Beuermann, Uniac, and Judge) while at the other end, Miller was unbeatable stopping all 5 shooters. The Walkom's Valu-Mart Atom Rep Meteors would silent the Wasaga Beach crowd with a 2-1 win.
On Sunday, the Atom Reps returned mid-morning to St. Clements where they would face the Drayton Defenders (won 3 games previous against Twin Centre Stars 5-2; Loyalist Jets 7-2; and Wingham Ironmen 7-0). Mitchell battled hard against a quick Drayton team and were able to score first with Van Bakel going bar-down off the backhand. But Drayton answered back before the end of the 1st, leaving the period in a 1-1 tie. In the 2nd period, Drayton would score twice before Mitchell answered back on the power play with Judge scoring (assist Van Bakel). After the Meteors had just killed a penalty, the Defenders scored once again at the 2:11 mark, making the score 4-2, Drayton. The Meteors were resilient in the first few minutes of play of the 3rd period with Van Bakel scoring twice off the backhand. With the score tied 4-4, it looked like Mitchell was building momentum. But Drayton wouldn't let it last, scoring 45 seconds later off a rebound and once again with 4:44 left on the clock. Mitchell pulled the goalie in the last minute, applying the pressure. The score remained 6-4 in favour of the Defenders.
In the Semi-Final, the host team Twin Centre Stars would be Mitchell Meteors opponent. Coming off a big win against the Listowel Cyclones earlier in the day gave the Stars confidence going in against the Meteors. It showed as Twin Centre scored 3 unanswered goals in the first period and another one in the 2nd. It seemed an insurmountable task to come back from a 4-0 deficit. But Mitchell would not give up. Hudson Porter scored with over a minute left in the second, going top shelf (assist Jake Richardson). it seemed to light a spark for the Meteors as they outplayed the Stars in the 3rd but a hot goalie would shut the door and the game would end in a 4-1 loss.
The Walkom's Valu-Mart Atom Rep Meteors should be proud of their competitive play coming away with bronze medals. Well done boys!