In - House Championships -- Blakewood Construction Team wins In House Novice LL Championships
Fresh off our silver medal victory in Sundridge, our
team returned to Muskoka to play our In House Championships against our other
two teams, Wes Finch and Sons and Middaugh Masonry. This tournament had a
round robin, where each team played a game and then the final two teams
advanced to the final championship game.
During the week of March 6th to 12th, each team played each other. Our team played Middaugh Masonry on Saturday, March 11th and won by a commanding 14 – 1 victory. Then on Sunday, our team faced off against Wes Finch and Sons and narrowly defeated Wes Finch by a score of 2 – 1. So, going into the final championships, our team had won two games; Wes Finch one game and Middaugh lost both those games, so Monday, March 20th was the show down between Wes Finch & Sons and our team to determine the overall in house champions for 2016 – 2017!.
On March 20th, Blakewood Construction faced off against Wes Finch for the championship title. As soon as the puck dropped, adrenaline was running high. Mason D. was in net for Wes Finch and our own Corbin H. was in net for our team. Play was intense for the majority of the first period. Each team played well and didn’t give an inch. Offensively, both teams were well matched, making great shots on net but which just couldn’t penetrate, either through the great defensive skill of each team – or the fantastic saves of the goalies. Our goalie, Corbin H. made a great save to thwart Wes Finch’s attempt to get the first goal of the night. Ben W. and Lincoln W. were aggressive offensively and obtained possession of the puck from a few scrum battles. Daichi McE. and Wyatt G. were strong defensively and cleared the puck from our end on many occasions. Joshua D. captured the puck behind the net and stick handled well up to their end. It wasn’t until only 3:17 left to play in the first period, that Mason W. slammed in our first (crucial) goal of the night, assisted by Daichi McE. to finally, put us up on the scoreboard. However, once that first goal was scored, each team seemed even more entrenched in their respective positions and so the first period ended with our team up by only that one goal.
The second period also saw great hockey action. Right off the bat, Corbin H. made another great save. Wyatt G. also stopped some potential shots on net. Then, only 1 ½ minutes into the second period, Mason W. shot in his next goal of the night, to widen our lead to two. Paige O. took a nice shot on net with 6:39 left to play, which rebounded just off the post. Beckett R. was nicely placed right in front of the net and took advantage of Paige’s rebound. Mason W.’s strong performance continued and with only three minutes left to play, scored his third goal of the night to cement our ever increasing lead. Lincoln W. and Chase R. were strong offensively in this second period, with both making significant advances on the Wes Finch net. Helmut A. was solidly in front of the net and picked up a pass from Mason W. to make a solid shot on net. Then with only 47 seconds left in the second period, Mason W. potted in his fourth goal of the night, to give our team a commanding lead of 4 – 0 at the end of the second period.
Third play action was also intense. Wes Finch, though, didn’t give up. They kept on playing and keeping the heat on, which paid off as in the first minute of play, landed their first goal of the night, to eliminate the possibility of a shut out. Our team rallied back and Lincoln W., Ben W., Chase R. and Helmut A. were all over the Wes Finch team, pushing them back into their end. Paige O. made a great steal from an advancing Finch to knock it out of our end. Colton B. was strong defensively throughout this period and chased down numerous Finch players to send the puck packing back to their end and Joshua D. stole the puck on a breakaway to keep the Wes Finch’s lead from expanding. With only four minutes left to play, Mason W. netted his 5th goal of the night and then within 15 seconds of that goal, potted in his 6th goal, to up our lead to 6 – 1. As the final minute of the game wound down, Corbin H. made one final great save, and the clock ran out, confirming our team’s win and crowning us the winner of the 2016 – 2017 Novice House League Championships.
While the win was phenomenal and our players certainly deserved it, it was great to see how they all grew as a team throughout the year, not only in their hockey skills but in their team work and comraderie. They should all be very proud of themselves! Thanks again to you as the parents, for supporting both us and your players. I hope you all had a great year!
Photo: The Blakewood Construction Team with their Championship Trophy