Hammond Transportation Peewee AE Bears win 3 games straight to play in the championship game vs. Ennismore Eagles at home tournament and with a one goal margin take the Consolation Championship...
The first game of the tournament early Saturday am, Hammond Transportation Peewee AE Bears faced off against the Elmvale Coyotes. The Bears had a strong start and pulled ahead 3-0 to end the 2nd period. Goals scored by Jordan K., Michael B., and Scott S., assists Noah H., Reyd T., and Jordan K., each with 2. Elmvale came on strong at the end of the 3rd period with 2 goals but the Bears held on for the win, final score 3-2 for the Bears. MVP was awarded to Jordan K., with 1 goal and 2 assists, Jordan put out 110% effort all game.
Game 2 the Bears met Ennismore and the teams played end to end hockey throughout the first half of the game with no scoring...very evenly matched teams. The Bears put the first goal in with 4 minutes to go in the 2nd period and another one within 2 minutes. Both goals scored by Noah H., assists to Owen B., Colton M,. Reyd T., and Jordan K. Solid defense kept the rebounds to a minimum setting up Bears netminder Cam C. for a shut out. The 3rd period was aggressive with multiple penalties mostly for the opposition. The Bears kept their cool and managed to seal the win with another goal with less than 3 minutes in the 3rd. Goal scored by Daniel D., assist to Cyrus B. and Connor M. Final score 3-0 for the win. Bears netminder Cam C. stood tall and came up with some beauty saves for the shut out and the MVP for the game.
With 2 wins the Bears faced Highland Storm for game 3 late Saturday afternoon. Highland Storm started off the scoring taking the lead 1-0 halfway through the 1st period. The Bears answered with an astounding 3 goals within a 2 minute span. 2 goals scored by Noah H, 1 by Daniel D, assists to Owen B, Cyrus B, Scott S, and 2 to Jordan K. Well into the 2nd period with the Bears in the lead 3-1, a passing play back to the defense that the Bears used successfully throughout the tournament added another goal... making it a 4-1 game. Goal scored by John C., assisted by Cyrus B and Michael B. Highland Storm did not go down easy, getting 2 more goals before the final buzzer, making it a 4-3 game for the Bears. MVP for the game went to Noah H for an outstanding job in the offensive end and solid backchecking all game long.
With 3 straight wins the Bears faced Ennismore on Sunday for the Championship. Both teams fought hard...it was an edge of your seat, end to end game with no scoring until the last 23 seconds of the 3rd period. Ennismore scored and took the championship title with a final score 1-0. MVP for the game went to Cam C. for some awesome saves that kept us in the game right until the very end.
Throughout the tournament we saw the Bears working together and using the plays that they have been practicing ... 3 goals were scored by the Bears defense from the blue line with traffic in front of the goalie ... the offense was passing out front from behind the net creating multiple scoring opportunities ... and pucks were being cleared from our crease area minimizing the chances of the dreaded "garbage" goal. All in all, the Bears had a great weekend of hockey. Keep it up team, there is still a lot of hockey to play... exhibition games and the final tournament in Lincoln ... don't hang up your skates yet!