The Huron Perth Lakers ‘AAA’ Minor Bantams traveled to Oshawa this past weekend to compete in the Rogers Fury Challenge and played with a level of motivation & commitment unmatched throughout the weekend.
At the drop of the puck on Friday morning the Lakers showed off their creative offence, stifling defense & solid goaltending to outscoring their round robin opponents 22-8 to win their Division & earn the #1 Ranking going into the Semi Finals.
Game 1 saw the Lakers handle the Greater Kingston Predators by a score of 5-2. In Game 2 versus Sudbury Wolves the Lakers controlled the play for the majority of the game & were rewarded with a convincing 7-2 win. On Saturday, they started the day against the Peterborough Petes & a solid 5-2 victory. Having clinched a spot in the semi-finals, the boys were still determined to go undefeated with a win against the Toronto Red Wings and by the final buzzer earned a 5-2 win to close out the round robin with a perfect 4-0 record.
In the Semi-Finals, the Lakers took on the Wild Card team, Soo Thunder at 8am Sunday morning. The teams appeared fairly equal to start the game but the Lakers woke up midway through the 1st period & sent the Soo on the long bus ride home, hammering the Thunder 6-1 to earn a trip to the Championship game.
The Final saw the Lakers come up against a familiar foe in League & Division rival Brantford 99’ers. The Lakers built a 4-2 lead however Brantford stormed ahead & took a 5-4 lead late in the 3rd. Refusing to accept the result the Lakers pressed forward & with luck on their side, a shot off the side of the net bounced up & found its way into the net to knot the game at 5-5. Maintaining their determination & commitment level evident since game 1, the boys dug in as the game headed to Overtime & after just 23 seconds were rewarded, skating off with a thrilling 6-5 victory and the tournament Championship.
In addition to the Championship rings presented to each Laker team member, Tournament Organizers also presented 3 of 4 individual tournament awards to Huron Perth players:
Most Outstanding Forward- Garrett Meurs
Most Outstanding Defenseman- Mac Nichol
Championship Game MVP- Jake Partridge