Recap of the Brad Pearsall Tyke Select/Novice Rep Tournament - March 17 - 19th, 2017.
Our 3rd Annual Brad
Pearsall Tyke Select hockey tournament was held (in conjunction with the Novice
Rep team) from March 17th – 19th, 2017. In the Tyke Select division, 9 teams in
total travelled to Muskoka from other parts of Southern Ontario to compete in
the Tyke component of this three day tournament.
Our own Tyke Select Team, Terry’s Independent Grocers, played a total of three games in the round robin hoping the results of those games would be enough to get them into the semi-finals. However, going into the game, the team was missing two crucial players, Hudson W. and Oliver A., so they were two men down.
The team faced off first against the Ennismore Eagles, who was an unknown entity. The first period started off with our goalie for this game, Kallum G., making a phenomenal save within the first minute of play to fend off a potential first goal. Phenix C., Jack McG., Grayden Z. and Grayson C., were strong offensively right off the bat and had some good shots on net. The Eagles’ goalie was a worthy opponent, however, giving limited opportunity to penetrate the net. At 7:32, the Eagles got their first goal of the day, placing them up on the scoreboard. As a result, our defensive team upped the ante and hustled throughout the remainder of the period to ensure that no other goal would do the same. Offensively, Kye D. successfully won a few ‘scrums’ to steal possession of the puck. Mason W. pelted the net with shots, with a few rebounding just off the goal posts. Jack McG. got his first breakaway and scoring opportunity, slicing it from the side of the net; it was oh so close! Grayson C. picked up the rebound and tried to slam it in again but nothing seemed to be getting by that Eagles’ goalie. Jack G. and Wyatt G. deprived the Eagles of some scoring opportunity with their ability to be all over the Eagles, stealing the puck at every turn. Kallum G. made a number of great saves throughout the period, in particular, in the last few seconds of play to limit the Eagle’s lead to just one, at the end of the first period.
The second period saw Mason W. win the face off and catapult up the ice, to take a a solid shot on net however once again, he just couldn’t get by that goalie. The Eagles got possession of the puck and were on a breakaway, however they were thwarted by Grayden Z., who made a great defensive move to steal the puck and stop their scoring opportunity. The Eagles were at it again, however, and at 8:23, scored their second goal of the night to increase their lead by 2. This additional goal didn’t phase our team however; they kept on giving it their all. Grayson C. had a nice breakaway and shot on net, followed by Mason W. who followed suit. Then, despite a great effort by our defensive line, the Eagle’s got another breakaway and scored at 7:39 to boost their lead even higher. Despite the increase in goals against, our team hunkered down and kept giving working hard. Wyatt G. and Colton H. had some great defensive plays, taking the puck behind the net and then sending it down the boards back to the Eagles’ end. Evan A. caught a great pass from Mason W. to wallop his first shot on net; followed by Mason W. picking up the rebound shot and giving it another try. Joshua D. kept up heat on the Eagles’ offense and used the boards well to keep the puck out of our end. Our team showed great teamwork and passing with two plays, first from Wyatt G. to Grayson C. for a shot on net, and then with less than two minutes left to play, Mason W. picked it up and passed to Grayson C., who slammed it in their net, finally penetrating the Eagles net with a crucial goal and placing us up on the scoreboard; putting us within reach of the Eagles. Kallum G. in the last minute of play, made another fantastic save, so the second period ended with the Eagles leading 3 – 1.
Third period action was intense. Kallum G. was in command and made some great saves right off the bat. Phenix C. had some solid shots on net as well as Grayden Z. However, despite our team’s best efforts, the Eagles potted one in again, upping their lead to 4 -1, on their way to what seemed like, at that time, an easy victory. However, after that goal, our team bunkered down and upped their game. Evan A. had a nice breakaway. Right on top of that, Phenix C. made a great pass to Grayden Z. who catapulted it in to give us our second goal of the night, narrowing the Eagle’s lead. Mason W. had a breakaway, deking up the ice to pass to Jack McG., who also got another solid shot on net. Then, just minutes later, Mason W. once again passed the puck to Jack McG. who catapulted it in, giving the team their crucial second goal to narrow the Eagles’ lead by one. Could it be a Bears comeback?? Jack G. and Joshua D. hoofed it on defence to stop some Eagles chances to score. Kallum G. made some more great saves to stave off any impending goals. Our offensive upped the heat on the Eagles as Evan A., Phenix C., Mason W. pulled out all the stops (and our goalie) to try to get that tying goal. However, despite the team pulling our goalie; (kudos to Wyatt G. and Evan A. for defending the net); not backing down; while still keeping the heat on, the clock slowly ticked down and the final score ended, despite our great comeback in the third period, with the Eagles ahead by that lone goal; finishing 4 – 3 for the Eagles.
Despite the final score, our team played a fantastic game of hockey. In particular, in the third period they pulled out all the stops, didn’t give up and wouldn’t let the scoreboard get them down. They were passing more and relying on their teammates and we had some great co-ordinated shots on net and defensive plays. Kallum G. played a phenomenal game in net, as did his counter-part Ollie H., in the games that he was in net during this tournament.
Our team went on to play an additional two games in the round robin portion of the tournament. Our next game was against the Hespeler Shamrocks on Saturday at 11:00. While the Shamrock fans came all decked out in green, our Tyke Select supporters donned red clothing and signs to cheer on our Bears during this game and to give the Hespeler fans a run for their money. However, despite the colourful red attire, the Shamrocks defeated the team; a shut out -- 9 – 0.
A couple of hours later, the team was back on the ice to play our third game of the day, the Erin Hillsburgh Devils. While we took the early lead in that game, things slowly slipped away as the periods went on and once again, we were defeated with a final score of 15 - 5.
While defeated in number, for sure, on this day, our team was not defeated in spirit. They played each and every game and didn’t give up. They made the other teams work for the win. Moreover, our players were true professionals; it was a compliment to them that despite not posting even one win over the past two days, many of them stayed to watch the other team’s compete; they didn’t just head home. They all had fun, enjoyed the weekend and were a great host team.