While most kids were relaxing on school break playing with the toys they found under the Christmas tree, the South Muskoka NorStar Novice Rep team was travelling to Niagara On the Lake to play in the annual Christmas Classic "A" tournament.
Having to play against higher ranked teams for 3 days the Bears knew they were going to be in tough if they wanted a shot at bringing home a medal. Game number one brought about the St. Catherines Falcons and the Bears were eager to get off to a fast start and a fast start they got. Just sixteen seconds into the game Owen Hogue and Tyson Jennings set Jackson McLennan up for a quick goal. Five minutes later Carter Imrie buried a rebound to give the Bears a two goal lead. The team kept the pedal down and pressure on causing the Falcons to score one on themselves and fall behind 3-0. A tight third period saw the Flacons get on the board with one but Carlson took a feed from Alex Sickinger in the dying seconds and put it in the open net for a strong 4-1 win to open the tournament on a positive note.
Wednesday brought a new day and new opponents with the current division leaders Whitby Wildcats up first. The game was fast paced end to end action but the Bears continued their strong starts by finding the back of the net twice in the first period. Owen Hogue's strong forecheck created a Wildcat turnover which he was able to control and get an unassisted shot past the goaltender putting the Bears on the board first. This was the first goal the Wildcats had allowed in three games. Appearing rattled, just a minute and a half later Willow Davidson made a nice tape to tape pass to Carlson who found Imrie in front of the net and Carter made no mistake giving the Bears a two goal lead. A commitment to skating and finding their man kept the Wildcats at bay until they squeaked one past Koby Knight near the end of the second period. The rambunctious goaltender would not allow another and along with his steady defenceman and game MVP Owen Stickel, helped lead the Bears to the second win in as many games 2-1.
Doing some scoreboard watching along with the upset of Whitby the team knew if they could win the next game they would get an automatic birth in the tournament final the next afternoon. Coach Davidson made sure to remind the team of this before they took the ice against the Niagara Falls Flyers Wednesday afternoon. With the extra motivation the Bears came out flying and just eleven seconds into the game McLennan converted a Jennings pass for a quick lead. Hudson Watson-Fluker would get the second goal and Carlson added a third before the period was done. The Bears did not hold back as Watson-Fluker potted his second of the game while Jake Reynolds set up Brayden Reid for a point blank chance which Bennett Clayton finished for good measure giving the Bears a commanding 6-0 lead going into the final period. The final frame would see the Bears strike three more times as Watson-Fluker picked up the hat-trick and Hogue and McLennan continue their lines dominance each adding singles with the help of Jennings. The 9-0 win was enough to get the first spot in the finals but a fourth game would have to be played first on Thursday to finish out the round robin portion of the tournament.
Carrying a bit of a swagger Thursday morning having outscored the competition 15-2 in the first three games, the Bears faced the host team Niagara on the Lake with the hopes of going undefeated before the finals later in the day. Unfortunately the team appeared to be thinking to far ahead as they allowed the Wolves to take a 4-0 lead into the third period before they decided to play again to their potential. Watson-Fluker and Carlson both found the net finally with the help of Imrie and Davidson in a period that the Bears dominated not allowing a shot on goal. It was too little to late though and the team was brought back to earth with a 4-2 defeat and a reminder to the players that no team can afford to take shifts and periods off at anytime. With the finals looming a couple of hours later and a rematch against Whitby, it was a much needed lesson that the kids would not forget.
In the pregame speech the coaches reminded the players if the skated as hard as they could, if the put forth the best effort they could on each shift and if they hustled as hard as they could every time they were on the ice no matter the outcome, they could walk out of the rink with their heads held high win or lose. Having put the morning performance behind them the Bears had gold on their mind. The Wildcats were anxious to show the Bears the previous win was a fluke but South Muskoka would have none of it. Four minutes into the game Imrie and Watson-Fluker set Carlson up to put the Bears on the board first. Whitby kept the pressure on but strong back checking by Jennings and Reynolds helped keep them off the board until Chase Geer and Watson-Fluker set Carlson up for his second of the game halfway through the second period. Whitby would not roll over squeaking one passed Declan Ingram to come back within one. Less than a minute later Carlson would notch the hattrick winning a draw in the offensive zone and snapping one home off of a Wildcat defenceman. The trophy was in sight heading into the third period and the Wildcats were able to break through for another goal to get back in the game but for the final ten minutes it was all Bears. Jake Reynolds had a great individual effort turned aside but Imrie was on the doorstep for the rebound to put the game out of reach with the teams fourth goal. Ingram's big glove hand flashed the leather to rob the final Wildcat chance and the Bears were now champions.
Holiday tournaments are always tough but bringing home a trophy and gold medal makes them that much sweeter. The Bears are looking to carry the momentum into 2017 and have the regular season championship next on their list. If you have a chance, you need to come out and watch this team of hard workers continue to show everyone they are a force to be reckoned with.