Nov 16, 2015 | dmarling | 802 views
CALVACADE FORD BANTAM BEARS SPLIT TOURNAMENT ACTION
It was another busy weekend for the Calvacade Ford bantam Bears as they took part in the annual Jim Wilson Chevrolet tournament held Nov. 12-15th in Orillia.......
South Muskoka came out strong against the dreaded Barrie Colts. While Barrie netted the first goal, half-way through the second frame Conor Quemby took a solid pass from Josh Dikeos. Quemby notched the first goal providing an energetic force which the Bears quickly fed upon.
Almost immediately into the 3rd, Dikeos fed Shane Dowling who made no mistake of his intentions and lead the Bears 2-1. While tempers escalated and the game quickly became chippy, South Muskoka stayed true to their game. Keeping penalties to a minimum showed clear discipline and focus.
Defensemen Kristopher Brinks and Tyler Soucy played rock-like as they secured the blue line and pinched the boards with their sturdy physical presence.
Dikeos shut the door on this game sealing the third goal with only minutes to spare.
Preston Huntbach minded the pipes and was unshakeable in this game.
Game 2 had the boys facing off against the Welland Tigers.
Immediately out of the gate South Muskoka was on a mission.
The first period had goals from Cole Ruddell and Dikeos with assists going to defensemen Connor Marling and Brinks.
The second brought two more goals from rookie forwards Ryan Henderson and Keegan Mitchell. Jack Lyndon and Max Larock insured lockdown in their zone. An impressive game from start to finish, Dowling put this to bed making the final score 5-0.
Brad Webb secured the shutout.
Game 3 saw South Muskoka pitted against host team, the Orillia Terriers.
Not a pretty game, the Bears struggled the entire time.
Orillia came out fast and furious. As the Bears made every effort to find their feet and put their nose to the grindstone, it was too little too late.
Orillia took this win 8-2.
Game 4 had the Bears dropping the puck in the semi-finals once again facing off against Welland.
This was a fast, aggressive game. With loads of end-to-end action, the Bears were again hustling and toiling to find their way.
Late into the first period forward Tyler Weese, snaked his way toward the offensive end where he sniped a beautiful goal putting his team on the scoreboard and breathing a bit of fire into his teammates. Forwards Travis Newman and Joel Antonides worked hard to move the puck up the ice. Scoring opportunites were few and far between as Welland hounded the Bears at every angle.
Brennan Maher and Brinks worked tirelessly to shut down the offense. Back-checking and moving the puck kept all defensemen on their toes.
Welland ultimately tied the game sending this nail-biter into a rare shootout.
The shootout had the entire arena on the edge of their seats as neither South Muskoka or Welland was hitting the net.
One team shot, then the other, this repeated multiple times.
Unfortunately, this semi final game ended with the Tigers hitting the net and sending the Bears back to Muskoka.
A well fought game, it certainly was not a reflection of the intensitiy of the entire weekend- simply not the bantams day.
For game times and all things Bear related, go to: southmuskokaminorhockey.com
by Mary Lyndon