On December 27-30, 2014, the Sarnia Sting Minor Novice MD team participated in the 45th Annual Wayne Gretzky International Hockey Tournament in Brantford.
It was a potentially grueling schedule as there were 12 teams registered in the division.
The team breezed through preliminary round play with victories over the Hamilton Huskies White, the Woodstock Jr. Navy Vets, Richmond Hill Stars and the Milton Winterhawks. During the four games, the Sting outscored the opposition 27-2 and were ranked #1 heading into the playoffs.
In quarterfinal play, the Sting faced a familiar opponent in the Cambridge Hawks. Like in their previous meeting in Burlington, the Sting dispatched the Hawks, this time by a score of 9-1.
After the quarterfinals, only the top 4 teams remained. This set up a semi-final clash with the Whitby Wildcats. This spirited affair came right down to the wire. The Sting held the lead for most of the game, building a 4-2 lead, but the Wildcats rallied late in the game with two goals to tie the score with just minutes remaining. Some extremely hard work and a fortuitous event lined the Sting up with a 2 man advantage and the Sting quickly capitalized netting the game winner with 30 seconds remaining. 5-4 Sting.
The finals were set between the top seeded Sting and the second ranked, undefeated Clarkson Hurricanes. For those that weren’t able to be in the stands or to catch the game live on Rogers TV Brantford, you missed a good one.
Once again, the Sting came out fast, jumping out to a 2-0 first period lead. The Sting would see that lead reverse itself in the second period as the Hurricanes took control 4-2. An extremely quick back and forth saw the score become 5-3 and remain that way deep into the third period. As was their potential all along, the Sting then took control of the game and the tournament. As only the Rogers TV high lights will be able to justify, the Sting filled the net with 4 goals and held on for the 7-5 victory, the championship and a victorious photo with a jubilant Walter.
Once again, a total team effort is what lead to this team’s second title of the year. Every player should be proud of how they played over the 7 games as their development really shined through. Congratulations Boys!!!