Dec 03, 2014 | Evan VanSickle | 971 views
Challenge Cup Champs!
This
past weekend, the Minor Novice MD3 team participated in the Burlington MD
Challenge Cup.
The tournament opened for the team with an early game against the Oakville Wolfpack. A landslide that closed the 403 couldn’t prevent the team from getting off to a fast start and a 5-2 victory. Credit for the victory goes to the parents for negotiating the closure and getting the players to the game!
The team’s second game was a late start for the 7 year olds with puck drop at 7 pm against the Cambridge Hawks. Once again, the Sting put forth a great team effort building an early lead and not looking back in a 6-2 victory.
The final game of the preliminary round was Saturday at 3:30 against the hometown Bulldogs Blue. The players had to trade their bowling shoes for skates and got off to a slow start, surviving the first period without allowing a goal. The team then dominated puck possession and as comfortable as a 1-0 win can be, finished the preliminary round with a record of 3 and 0.
In the semi final, the Sting faced another home town team, the Bulldogs White. The game was a thriller, right to the very end. Outstanding goaltending from both sides had the score deadlocked at zero and headed for overtime, until with just 15 seconds remaining, the Sting scored on a breakaway then held on for another 1-0 victory.
In the championship game, the Sting faced the undefeated Willowdale Blackhawks. Through some gritty work, the Sting built a 3-1 lead in the third period. The Blackhawks scored to pull within 1 with a little over a minute to play. The rest of the game was played in Sarnia’s end, however, timely saves and blocked shots preserved the victory and the title. As the final buzzer sounded, the player’s obtained their goal by being able to race onto the ice and throw their sticks and gloves into the air.
Ultimately this tournament was won because of outstanding goaltending and timely contributions from every player on the team. Congratulations boys on being the 2014 Novice MD3 Challenge Cup Champs!