99 Atom Lakers in Michigan 3rd Annual CanAm Collision Hosted by Rick Stahl's "Detroit Sports Company".
The 99 Atom Lakers traveled to Detroit, Michigan as a late entry to participate in the CanAm Collision hockey tournament against most of the highest ranked Major Atom AAA teams in the United States. In a unique setup, seven Canadian teams faced off in a round robin format against the same number of US teams culminating in a final day rivoting seven period game to decide the tournament championship.
All the participating teams wore their respective national team uniforms with the Laker boys looking particularly sharp in their Team Canada jerseys. The Canadian teams won the last day’s game by a combined score of 8-6 to take home the Gold with the Lakers doing their part containing the powerful Little Caesars team while the Mississauga Senators held the number #1 ranked North America team, the Chicago Mission, to just one goal in clinching the victory.
The Lakers started strong defeating the Philadelphia Jr. Flyers by a score of 6-3. Tanner Hertel had two goals and an assist to lead the attack while Will Thibeault and Noah Kuno each had a goal and an assist. Brett Denny and Ben Derrough rounded out the scoring. Carter Collinson had two assists with singles going to Ashton Stockie, Mitchell Newson and Evan Moorehead. Brock Baier was strong in the Lakers goal.
The next three games all seemed to follow the same storyline. A tough opponent, a great close game going into the third period, followed by a subtle letdown resulting in a flurry of third period goals and defeat. Game two was against the South Shore Kings - the #2 ranked team in the US. The Lakers realized their opponents quality very early but did not back down giving the highly skilled Kings a gritty battle and entering the third down 2-0 before eventually losing. Justin Beuermann forechecked well and Bradley Kraemer was a force defensively for the Lakers.
Game three against the Long Island Gulls was almost a carbon copy as the Gulls blew things open in the third ending in an 8-2 defeat. Thibeault scored both goals while Hertel had one assist. Kade Landry had an excellent game defensively, while continuing to move the puck well with great skating and passing. Goaltenders Baily Paquette and Baier both had strong games making many key saves but were left with little support in the third when the boys seemed to run out of steam.
Game four looked like it was going to be different story. The Lakers carried the play against the #13 ranked St Louis Blues and were tied late in the game with Jacob Rooke and Dillon Weinheimer having scored the Lakers' goals. It was not to be however as the Blues responded with four unanswered goals and handed the Lakers a disappointing 6-2 defeat. Collinson earned an assist while Kuno and Denny played well for the Lakers. The lesson learned in these three games is that in order to be successful against top teams at the AAA level you have to compete every shift. Focus and intensity cannot let up, even for a second, otherwise the opposition will make you pay – and very quickly.
Game five was against the #6 ranked Belle Tire. A very fast and highly skilled team that gave the Lakers all they could handle. When the dust settled the Lakers had avoided the third period lapse but ended up losing 3-1. Hertel scored the Lakers' only goal with Stockie and Moorehead assisting. Brock Baier was tremendous in goal repeatedly turning aside the dangerous Belle Tire attack.
In the final playing in front of a standing room only crowd, the boys did themselves proud. With all 14 teams in attendance and wearing their Canada and USA jerseys, the boys battled against a rough and tough #7 ranked Little Caesars team. All the boys played extremely hard while Paquette made several great saves in net. When the last game was played and the final whistle blown, a sea of red flooded the ice as all seven Canadian teams celebrated the victory. The tournament was a great experience on many different levels. The Lakers played elite caliber teams all weekend and proved that they can compete strongly with anyone. The experience gained from these games will serve them well as they enter the last half of their regular season and the playoffs. It was also a great experience in the fact that they were able to wear the Canada jersey, enjoy the camaraderie of their fellow Canadian teams and have a great weekend bonding with their teammates all while playing some great hockey.
Written by Mike Weinheimer