U12 Lakers repeat as Alliance Champions!!!!, News (Huron Perth Lakers)

At the start of the season we knew that this group had the opportunity to be something special and it’s safe to say they exceeded the already lofty expectations!!  Buckle up for a review of an amazing season by this talented group of young hockey players!

To get the season started the group held a fundraising golf tournament at the Listowel Golf Club.  The boys were almost all in attendance on a colder than usual early September day and the parents either played or volunteered, some of which ill equipped to handle the extremely cold temperatures!  It was an amazing success thanks to the generosity of the donors and the teams that played, all funds going towards the teams January tournament in Ft Lauderdale Florida.  Capper on the day was a special guest appearance by Listowel’s own Corey Conners (a Laker himself for multiple seasons)!

Before the regular season would get underway the team would travel to Toronto to compete in the Toronto Marlboros Friendship Tournament.  This tournament would see some of the best teams in North America attend.  The Lakers would go undefeated in the round robin boasting a 5-4 come from behind win over the Buffalo Jr Sabres.  They would then take their quarter final vs the Don Mills Flyers only to lose in triple overtime to the host Toronto Marlboros.  If we were unsure of where the team fit amongst the best in North America we know had the attention of all the best teams heading into the season.

The regular season would start in October and would see HPL go undefeated in league play, an exhibition tie vs Victory Honda their only dropped point.  November would see much of the same but would also see them compete in two tournaments.  First up was the Kitchener Blueline in which they would cruise to six wins and the tournament title.  Next up was the International Silverstick, one of the largest and most prestigious U12/11U tournaments in the world.  The Lakeshow would go undefeated again in the round robin with wins over the Vaughn Kings and Quinte Red Devils.  It would take overtime against a very talented Florida Alliance team to set up a rematch with Marlies in the semi final.  There was no stopping the hungry Lakers this time as they would dominate start to finish on route to a convincing 5-1 victory over the top team in the GTHL.  This win would vault the team to the #1 ranking in the province!!  The finals would see a formidable foe in the Middlesex Islanders, the top ranked team in North America.  The young Lakers would give them all they could handle but would eventually fall 5-2.  After the game the Middlesex coach mentioned that the team was the hardest they’d ever played against and would love to play us again.  This would cap off a busy November that saw the boys pick up 21 wins and 1 loss.

December was a light month for the boys in black and maroon.  A tie vs the Sun County Panthers would prove to be the only point they would drop in the regular season as they would take the other 5 games, 4 of which in shut outs.  With a trip to Florida on the horizon the boys took a much needed break for Christmas.  It was great timing getting out of Ontario as winter storms would sweep the region making it extremely tough for our captain and family to make the trip but they’d persevere and doing their best “Planes, Trains and Automobiles” act would get to the sunny south and join the team.

Florida was a wonderful experience with the group all together at an oceanside resort to enjoy great hockey and social time together.  Not really knowing what to expect from a hockey tournament in the sun belt, we were pleasantly surprised to see teams all ranked in the top 20 in the United States in our Elite AAA division.  The competition was very good with the semi finals not set until early Sunday morning.  After finishing in top spot in the round robin with 6 points the Lakers would see a familiar foe in Florida Alliance in the finals.  After falling behind early 2-0, HPL would respond to tie it up.  The teams would swap goals the rest of the way ending in a 5-5 tie, Alliance scoring with the goalie pulled with less than  a minute left.  OT would see the teams play 3 on 3, it wouldn’t take long as the host Florida team would score sending the home crowd into a frenzy.  Not the result we came for but still a great showing at a tough tournament.  It didn’t take long for the boys to get over it when we got back to the resort for some ping pong and hot tub time!  This trip was one we’ll all remember forever for the high level of hockey but also for the great times had with a group that truly enjoys being together. I’d go into more detail about the fun that was had but instead I’ll stick to an old saying that says “what goes on tour, stays on tour”.

There’s no rest when you play for the U12 Lakers and the boys would show now rust from their time in the south picking up wins of 13-0 over Kitchener and 8-2 over the Elgin Middlesex Canucks.  Next up was the Great Lakes Cup, the Huron Perth Lakers home tournament and one these young Lakers had no plans of losing.  They would roll through the round robin outscoring their opponents 27-6.  The last game of the round robin was a 7-4 win over the York Simcoe Express, after the game the talk in the lobby was disbelief that this was the #1 team in Ontario and “I thought they’d be better”.  This was all the bulletin board material that was needed in the quarterfinal rematch against the same Express team as the Lakers would trounce them 10-1 leaving them with no doubt and a long ride back to the big smoke.  A 3-1 win over Guelph and a 7-3 win over Brantford would crown the Lakers GLC Champions.  With the U14’s also winning it would be the first time the Laker teams would both take the title!!  January would see two more wins on route to record of 14 wins and two losses.

February would also be a light month compared to some but the team had an undefeated regular season to chase.  They would win the last 6 regular season games and cap off the 2^nd undefeated season in Laker history with 30 wins and 1 tie.  With the 1 seed in hand, round one would see them match up with the London Knights.  The Knights would give the Lakers a scare in the series with them taking a 2-0 lead in game 1 and HPL needing overtime to take the win.  Game two saw the Lakers skate to a 4-1 win but the 3^rd game would be extremely close with Huron Perth squeaking out a 1-0 win and winning the series.

March would see the boys up against the Sarnia Sting who were fresh off a thrilling opening series victory over the Elgin Middlesex Canucks.  This series would be chippy at times which is right up the Lakers alley, they would take the series in three straight games outscoring the Sting 19-2.  They would need to sit and wait to see who their opponent would be in the finals, when the dust settled on a back and forth series it would be the Sun County Panthers, the team that took the sole point from the Lakers in the regular season.  Game 1 in Milverton saw a great team effort with all 3 lines and defensive pairs rolling on route to a convincing 9-0 victory.  Game two would switch to the Allman Arena in Stratford and would see a parade by both teams to the penalty box.  Giving up a short handed goal in the first period would not deter the Lakers as they patiently worked on route to a 4-1 victory setting up the championship clinching game in Essex.  After a long trip the boys would settle in early and jump out to an early lead.  They would stretch the lead to 3-0 before Sun County would respond.  The stingy Laker team defence would snuff out any hope of a Panther comeback as they would find the net three more times on route to a convincing 6-1 championship cliniching victory!!  The celebration was on as the boys flooded the ice, sticks, helmets and gloves in the air as they converged together around their net.  The party would extend to the dressing room where sparkling juice (in lieu of champagne) bottles were popped and coach Walker was doused by his team.

Overall statistics for the season were astonishing to say the least

470 goals for in 76 games averaging 6.2 per game

114 goals against in 76 games averaging 1.5 per game

A record of 69 wins, 4 losses and 3 ties

20 shutouts

Toronto Marlies Friendship Semi Finalist

Kitchener Blueline Champions

International Silverstick Finalist

Paradise Puck Finalist

Great Lakes Cup Champion

Alliance Champions (back to back)

18 straight weeks ranked #1 in Ontario

#1 ranked U12 team in Ontario at the end of the season

#3 ranked U12/11U team in North America

In the end, the accomplishments on the ice were amazing but what the team should really be proud of is how close they are at and away from the rink.  These boys would go through a wall for each other, a testament to their parents, themselves and the coaching staff who never let them rest on their laurels.  They don’t care who scores as long as they are wearing the Laker crest, if one of them has a bad shift or makes a mistake the others are there to pick them up.  It was awesome to see a group of boys from small towns take it to the teams from the cities and sit at the top of the provincial rankings.  It was truly an amazing season and we should all be proud of this group of coaches and players!!!