Playing in The Ange Giajnorio Memorial Tournament in Niagara Falls, the Waterloo Novice Selects advanced into the final day of competition after a 2 win, 1 loss performance in Group Play. A hard luck loss to Chedoke (Hamilton) in the semi-finals, eliminated the Wolves a game earlier than we wished, however, valuable lessons were won in the process.
Kicking off Group Play on Monday, Waterloo played arguably their best game of the year by defeating Ancaster 5-1 (a team who also eventually advanced to the semi-finals). Not enough can be said about many aspects of the Ancaster game. From pre-game warm up, to communication on the ice, to passing and puck battles, the boys clicked and the scoreboard showed it.
The only loss of Group Play occurred in game 2 against the home squad, Niagara Falls. The boys didn't get out of the starting gate like they did against Ancaster, and an early 0-3 deficit proved too much to overcome. Waterloo outplayed NF in the 2nd and 3rd periods, the ice was tilted in our favour, but we just ran out of time.
A strong effort in today's semi-final match-up didn't produce the results expected with that effort. Chedoke scored 2 quick 3rd period goals earning their birth in the Championship game where they eventually fell to the Tournament Champs from Caledon, 5-1.
As mentioned earlier, many valuable lessons were learned throughout the 3 days of competition. From team bonding experiences off the ice, to winning and losing as a team and many lessons in between, the Waterloo Wolves look to build on their positive momentum and finish off the year strong.
Congratulations to every single one of the boys for all their effort and accomplishments this week. I think they all had a great few days with each other. Thanks to all the families for their commitment and of course energy in the stands!
By Coach Brennan