South Muskoka Minor Hockey held the annual
Tim Greavette Memorial Bantam/Midget hockey tournament Nov. 18 -20th. With a combined 14 teams from across Ontario,
it was an action packed weekend of good, solid hockey......
Game 1 brought Lincoln north to the “Skokes”. Working hard and battling the boards, South Muskoka was forced to pinch tight and back-check on a regular basis. The Bears squeaked out a 2-0 win.
The Aylmer Flames faced off for game 2. Less than 3 minutes into the frame, the Bears scored the first of 9 goals. The sacrificial lambs were sent packing as this game was a full blown shellacking with a final score of 9-0.
Game 3 had the Prince Edward County Kings sitting court as they hustled and kept South Muskoka frantically on edge. While the rubber bounced over every inch of the ice, the Bears could not catch a break. By the end of the third period, this game was locked into a 0-0 tie.
Advancing to the semi- finals brought Lambeth to centre ice. Only thirty seconds into the opening frame, South Muskoka hit the net. By the time it was all said and done, South Muskoka skated off winners with a 5-0 final.
This championship game had the Bears pitted against the only other undefeated team, St. Mary’s. Exiting the den and hungry for another championship, the Bears were focused and ready to put this game to rest. Battling hard, the puck blew up and down the ice. Shots on net had the Bears with a massive advantage. 46 shots vs 14 by St. Mary’s. This was a big indicator as to who was dominating the play. St. Mary’s netminder was smoking hot. He stood on his head and shined brightly for his team. This goaltender singlehandedly secured the saying, “You’re only as good as your netminder”. Just minutes into the 2nd period, St. Mary’s hit paydirt to take the lead. While the Bears clearly and indiscriminately owned this game, they absolutely could not get a break. Finally, with 36 seconds remaining in the game, South Muskoka hit the net to tie things up. As the clock ticked down, OT was now eminent. Five minutes of 4/4 had the Bears continuing to dominate the play. Shot after shot after shot was taken but St. Mary’s netminder continued to shut things down. The buzzer soon went and this game was now heading to a shoot-out.
Always a crummy way to dictate a winner, South Muskoka took the first shot. A successful goal , St. Mary’s followed with a successful shot of their own. South Muskoka missed shot #2 while St. Mary’s nailed theirs. The third shot was successful for the Bears and then in true Muskoka form, the power went out . A fifteen minute delay brought with it a lot of anxiety . St Mary’s secured their 3rd goal making them winner s and leaving the Bears as runners up.
Overall, it continued to be another successful weekend of bantam hockey. Stay tuned for the Silver Stick round-up in next week’s edition.
ML
For gametimes and all things Bear related, go to southmuskokaminorhockey.com