Minor Midgets' Brantford Tourney a ... Great One!
On the November 14 weekend the Minor Midgets travelled to Brantford to compete for the Boston Pizza Cup.
Vaughan
Before this first game was seven minutes old Ryan Watson and Brady Wiffen both had a goal and an assist. In the second period Vaughan got one past goalie Drew Reinhardt but Jesse DeGroote soon restored the three goal lead. Trailing the play on an odd man rush, DeGroote took a drop pass from Shawn Moore, moved into position and snapped one low to the blocker side..... 4-1. In the third period, Ryan Watson scored his second of the game with help from Ty Bilcke's second assist of the game. Liam Maaskant registered his second assist of the game on Ray Huether's late goal for a final score of 6-2.
Pittsburgh
Playing Game #2 against the Pittsburgh Predators was an exciting way to finish the first day of the tournament as there's always a little bit of national pride at stake playing teams from the US of A. Brady Wiffen got things started 1:16 in when he took a Ty Bilcke pass at the hash marks and ruffled the sheets in the top bunk. Taking advantage of a defenseman who was playing a little too high, David Sproat spotted Colt Pickett charging in from the right side. Sproat's pass was on the money and the sure handed Pickett made no mistake. Still in the first period, Jerry Ennett took a faceoff deep in Pittsburgh's end. As David Sproat brought the puck out from the side boards, a Predator defenseman helped him send the puck back to Ennett for the blocker side wrister to make it 3-0. Early in the second period, Ryan Watson brought the puck out of the corner unchallenged but was met by a defender as he approached the goal crease. Watson was stopped but the puck carried on through to Brady Wiffen.....4-1. When Jesse DeGroote made it difficult for the Predators to clear the puck, Ray Huether made it 5-1 with his effective 'right along the ice' wrist shot. With time running out in the third and the score at 5-1, the Wiffen line was controlling the puck in the Predators end. Knowing the value of 'goals for' in a tournament, but not trying to run up the score, Ty Bilcke was presented with a scoring opportunity he couldn't refuse. Parked at the left side of the net, Bilcke received the puck from Watson and Wiffen to make the final score 6-1.
Wiffen had a pretty good day on offense.....the hardest hit of the day was the one his mom and grandpa put on two deer!
Upper Canada
Saturday's first game was against Upper Canada. Fans from both teams standing behind the Cyclones net agreed that the first Lakers goal didn't come near the goal line let alone go across it - free goal for Scott Coghlin! The second goal saw Ray Huether receive a Jake Ringuette pass at the side of the net, cruise across the crease and deposit the puck in the far side. Early in the second period Jesse DeGroote put a hard shot on net. The rebound came straight to the high slot for Jerry Ennett to fire home. At 3:41 of the period Jesse DeGroote was at the point again, taking a relay from Shawn Moore and Scott Coghlin before blasting a slap shot which caromed in off the left post. DeGroote earned his third point on three consecutive goals with an assist on Ty Bilcke's 5-0 goal. Ryan Watson's aggressive fore checking paid off behind the Cyclones net, allowing Colt Pickett to bring the puck out front for a hapless opponent to kick in. Late in the game Watson banged in a goal of his own. Final score 7-0.
Barrie
Between games on Saturday, Jesse DeGroote, Shawn Moore, and David Sproat made a pilgrimage to Virardi St. to visit Walter Gretzky and see the childhood home of The Great One. Some of the magic must have worn off because three minutes into this game, Sproat took a Brady Wiffen rebound and tucked it into the top left corner. With a minute left in the first, Barrie came close to tying it but a set up pass was blocked by a sliding Jake Ringuette. With five seconds left the Colts threatened again but goalie Drew Reinhardt stood his ground to get the team out of the period. Early in the second Brady Wiffen was chasing a Colt puck carrier behind the Barrie net. Ty Bilcke read the player's mind, took possession of the drop pass and fired the puck out front to Ryan Watson to go up 2-0. Forty seconds of a power play was all it took for Jesse DeGroote to get a shot on net and Jerry Ennett to fire in the rebound. Ray Huether finished the scoring midway through the third by taking a Liam Maaskant pass, coming out from behind the net and purposefully putting a soft shot on net which somehow beat the goalie. Final score 4-0.
Ottawa
The Lakers went undefeated in the preliminaries but finished second to London Gold who scored one more goal over four games. This ranking would match the Lakers against Ottawa in the Sunday morning semi-final. At 9:22 of the first period the 67s went ahead 1-0. Two minutes later, Ty Bilcke got things going by moving the puck up ice to Ryan Watson. Crossing the blue line, Watson dished off to Huether then dashed behind the defense for the give and go. Huether returned the puck to Watson who cut across the crease in front of the goalie and used the backhand to bury the puck in the right corner. Two minutes into the second period this tenacious trio was hunting for the 2-1 go-ahead goal. When Bilcke's fore checking created a loose puck in the right corner, Huether took control and headed behind the net. Spotting Watson moving in from the left side of the net, Huether sent a short pass which Watson fired along the ice .... 2-1! With time running out it looked as though the Lakers were headed to the final but the determined Ottawa team managed to tie it up. The overtime format was 5 on 5, 4 on 4 etc - no way to win or lose a game. Unfortunately, Ottawa won this one and went on to defeat London Gold 4-1 in the final. A match up between the high flying Lakers and the Gold will have to wait for another day.
Article by: Paul Sproat