Nov 29, 2015 | Tyard | 745 views
Silver Stick Miracle ALMOST!
An injury plagued Progressive Waste Solutions Major Midget team attended the Silver Stick Tourney in Midland this past weekend.
With several players out with long-term injuries, the team went into the weekend with just 12 healthy skaters and 2 healthy goalies. Unfortunately, just as the 1st game ended, a player received a penalty for hitting from behind which incidentally, was not warranting a 3 game suspension in our eyes but that is the medicine the team had to swallow. For the rest of the tourney we were down to just 11 skaters. Regardless, the Bears won that first game against a very strong Elmira team beating them 4-1.
Knowing we'd be short-handed against what we thought was the strongest team in the tourney, last years OMHA 'A' Champions, the coaches came up with a 'trap' system to conserve energy, perhaps confusing the opponent, and hoping to capitalize on breaks! I think everyone watching this game would agree it was one of the finest displays of grit and determination we've seen all year. Not only that, we also received superb goaltending. The result was a nail-biting 2-1 win over Quinte West. We're not sure all the players knew, but the coaches did, that this win assured us a spot in the semi-finals. It also put the power-house Quinte West team on-the-bubble and having to win their 3rd game AND get help from another game to 'back' into the semis.
The Bears 3rd game was against another very strong team this time from Dorchester. Not needing the win but wanting to keep their momentum, the Bears played just well enough to win. They qualified for the semis on Sunday with a perfect 3-0 record.
It must be noted, the tourney officials were full of praise for our Bears who were playing so short-handed against such strong and fully manned 'A' division teams. They accomplished it with a brilliant game-plan, very good goal-tending, super-human endurance and 'buy-in' to the team-first concept. When the Sunday semi-final game arrived, unfortunately the Bears luck and energy finally ran out. The Bears fell 9-1 to a well-rested and fully manned Hespler team. While this score was deflating at that moment, there can be no discounting a tournament of hockey filled with incredible success and efforts.
I'm sure everyone watching will join the coaches in saluting the boys who played their hearts out all weekend!