And The Winner Is...: Championship Game vs. Meadowvale Hawks
The Neil Barker Thunder Classic Memorial Tournament’s Major Atom Championship Final: the ATOMc Blue Fireballs made it! Their hard fought semi-final victory against Port Credit 52 had brought them to this point: Western Fair Sports Centre… Westell Builders Arena… 8:30am… the Meadowvale Hawks… for the win.
The players and their families
rose, exited the hotel and got to the rink early in anticipation of the big
game. The Meadowvale Hawks, dressed in
black, had given them a run for their money two days ago in Waterloo’s second
game of the tournament. The boys felt
comfortable, as they donned their Blue once again, that they could come out of
this game victorious, just as they had the first time the teams had met. They took to the ice loudly and
energetically, accompanied by cheers from family, friends and fans in the
crowd, and immediately began their traditional warm-up to get them ready and
psyched for the game. All players were
present on this day, as it should be in such a situation, because the Fireballs
were strongest when together as a team, and everyone was responsible for the
wins that found them in this position.
The ATOMc Blue coaches continued
to cycle their starting lines, and it was Halen R.’s, James R.’s and Sam Z.’s
turn to start on forward, while the blue line would be defended by Michael R.
and Josh R. when the puck dropped to begin the game. Luke C. was pumped and ready to go in net;
his relaxed body language was deceptive to his opponents, but the blue fire
that burned in his eyes presented his intensity!
From the first face-off, both
teams kept their ultimate goal of the tournament championship in mind; only
fifty minutes stood between them and the crowning of the victors, and they knew
it! This level of awareness was evident
through the elevated level of play on the ice and the incredible speed of the
game. Everyone on the ice was committed
to their own team’s efforts. The
forwards skated their hardest and back-checked relentlessly! Lucas B. was on fire right from the start, as
he used his speed to catch a Meadowvale player early in the period and disrupt
what looked like an inevitable Black scoring opportunity.
On the same shift as Lucas’
stellar back-checking play, a beautiful breakout pass from Mason D. to Jett S.
led to a Black player taking a penalty by checking Jett aggressively as he
skated swiftly down the ice towards the opposing team’s net. On the resulting power-play, Blue poured on
the pressure in the Meadowvale end, as they skated around the Hawks’s net like
bees around a hive. At one point, Ryan
S. made a huge effort to stop the puck from escaping over the blue line, as he
grabbed the puck and passed it back into the fray, where Riley D. got a hold of
it and shot it neatly in the back of the net to put his team up by one.
The Hawks were relentless, as
they chipped away at the puck to get the point back. Their efforts paid off just over two minutes
after the Fireballs had taken the lead, when a Meadowvale player released a
beautiful wrist shot that ended up in the top corner of Waterloo’s net.
With the score tied 1-1, the
defensive strength of both teams shone, as all players worked their hardest to
prevent the other team from taking the lead.
Carson A. and Mason D. were phenomenal in their own end, as both worked
effectively as a team to ward off any scoring threats. Both used their speed and strong skills with
the stick to keep the puck in the corners and along the boards while in the
Blue end. In order to clear the zone,
they often relied on their hard working wingers. On the left wing, Jackson M., Matthew M. and Sam
Z. had become experts with the break-out, using the boards to help them clear
the puck out of danger. Lucas B., Halen
R. and Ryan S. were ferocious on the right side, as they did likewise, often
using their puck-handling skills to make progress through the neutral zone to
the opposition’s territory. Because of
all these strong efforts, the first period concluded with a 1-1 tie.
The second period began in much
the same way as the previous had concluded, with lots of hard checking and
strong defensive play. In fact, the
aggressive play resulted in a number of penalties – two for Meadowvale and one
for Waterloo – over a one minutes stretch early in the period. Because of the Hawks’s strong play, the
Fireballs were not able to capitalize on their one-man advantage, and the score
remained 1-1.
Josh R. provided an offensive
highlight this period, when he rushed from behind his own net all the way to
the opposing team’s end, but a well-positioned, patient Meadowvale goalie
turned away his excellent shot. It was nice
to have Michael R. back for this game, as he had missed the previous match due
to a basketball game in Guelph, and he contributed in many ways to the teams
efforts, both offensively and defensively.
His powerful shot helped Blue both clear the puck from their defensive
zone as well as keep it in Meadowvale’s end.
For every opportunity ATOMc Blue
had around Meadowvale’s net, it seemed as if Black was getting a chance around
Waterloo’s. On one play close to the end
of the period, Tony R. skated hard and put his body between the shooter and the
net to block a potential scoring opportunity and send the puck careening into
the neutral zone to end the immediate threat.
Despite Blue’s phenomenal play,
the Hawks pressed hard in the period’s final minute and, with twenty-four
seconds remaining, slipped the puck in the net to take a one goal lead heading
into the third.
When the buzzer sounded at the
end of the second, the coaches called all of the Fireballs to the bench and
gave the boys some strong motivational advice before sending them back out to
the face-off. They had been playing
fantastically, but there were only ten minutes remaining in which they could
tie this game. They would need to lay everything
on the line against this very strong Meadowvale team and take advantage of
every offensive opportunity that came their way… and the boys did exactly that.
The first few minutes of the
third period were a whirlwind of activity on the ice. The Boys in Blue were all over the Black
Hawks, who seemed to be taking a defensive approach to the remainder of the
game. With two and a half minutes having
passed, James R. found himself breaking down the left wing with a Meadowvale
player in tow and one skating backwards between he and the Black
netminder. Upon reaching the hash marks,
James pulled back the puck and unleashed a fast, rising shot that evaded
everyone and reached its destination by hitting the netting over the Hawks’s
goalie’s shoulder before falling to the ice.
With that, the two teams were back to where they had begun: tied with
seven minutes to go.
Having played their hearts out
in five games over the span of forty-eight hours, it was amazing that the boys
could continue to give it their all as this final game wound to a close. Calder W. was a perfect example, as he never
gave up when faced with a Meadowvale player in possession of the puck. This tenacity and intensity is what kept the
Fireballs in the game as the minutes ticked away, and it was shown by all of
the Blue players on the ice.
Luke C. also had to be at the
top of his game. He was Waterloo’s last
line of defence, and he did his job with poise and to perfection. His quick response time had brought about
many awe-inspiring saves throughout the tournament, and his efforts didn’t stop
there. With lightning speed, his gloved
hand shot out for another highlight reel stop in the final minutes of this
championship game.
With one minute remaining in the
game, it looked more and more as if this championship would come down to sudden
death overtime. The forward line of
Halen R., James R. and Sam Z. skated on to the ice to take their shift and,
seeing the challenge ahead of them, decided to face it head on. With mere seconds left, the three worked
together to fight their way into the opposing team’s end and towards their
net. What transpired next seemed to take
place in slow-motion, as if it were a scene from a movie. As the seconds continued to tick away, the
Blue players chipped away at the puck in front of the Meadowvale net. With one final push, Halen sent the black
disc sailing up… over the goaltender’s shoulder… into the back of the net… and
to the ice below… with 1.1 seconds remaining on the clock.
The Fireballs’ bench and
cheering section in the stands erupted with roars of applause, as the players
on the ice raced towards each other to celebrate this exciting moment. Halen had scored the winning goal, and the
assist was credited to Sam. What a
finish! Although the Meadowvale Hawks
appeared dejected as the referee dropped the puck to officially conclude the
game, they had played a fantastic game and tournament.
When the buzzer sounded to end
the game, the Blue bench cleared as the players standing there in anticipation
raced out the doors to join their teammates already celebrating in the middle
of the rink. The boys had defeated the
top three teams in the Major Atom division, two of them twice, and they
deserved all of the cheers and applause from their coaches and those in the
stands. Also deserving of the
recognition being given from family, friends and fans were the Meadowvale
Hawks, who gathered around their goalie to acknowledge each other’s tremendous
efforts.
When the celebratory chaos came
under control, the two teams lined up on their respective blue lines for distribution
of trophies. The first awards given out
were MVP plaques to one player from each team who the tournament organizers
selected as worthy of the honours. It
must have been a difficult choice when it came to picking one out the sixteen
worthy Waterloo players, but James R.’s hard work and fantastic tying goal
earned him this recognition and, accompanied by cheers and applause from
everyone in the arena, he skated forth when his name was called.
Next came the presentation of
the big one! Luke C. represented the
team, as he accepted the trophy which would eventually find a place in one of
Waterloo’s many rinks and would forever be a testimony of the hard work that
went into earning it. He held the trophy
high, as he carried it back to his teammates, as family and friends in the
stands continued to clap loudly. At this
time, each player was recognized individually, as they were called up by their
coaches to receive their own individual piece of hardware. With glowing smiles, they shook hands, accepted
their trophies and turned to be immortalized by those taking pictures from the
bench. What a moment! What an experience!
Before leaving the ice to
continue the celebration in the dressing room, the boys gathered around the net
for a team photograph. The whole
tournament experience had begun as a team, and so it should be concluded, and
all players gathered together to hold up their trophies in victory.
In the locker room, Halen R.
displayed three important artifacts from this experience: his trophy, the game
puck with which he had scored the winning goal and the Player of the Game
certificate which he had earned for his contributions on this momentous
occasion. Riley D. was also recognized
for his efforts throughout the whole tournament, as he was named the team’s
“Special Occasion Gold Jersey” for his consistent contributions on the ice and
positive attitude around his teammates and coaches.
As the weekend came to a close
and the players began to disperse – some out for breakfast, some home to meet
other commitments, some back to the hotel for a quick swim before departing –
the exciting feelings of what had been accomplished lingered in the air and
seemed to follow the boys and their families around everywhere they went. This was not a success that had been earned
easily or by the players alone, but one that had taken a great deal of hard
work, both by the boys on the ice and their families in the stands and, in some
cases, still at home.
Thanks to everyone involved for
making this tournament happen; thank you for your commitment and hard
work. Potentially even more important
than coming away from this experience victorious and with something new to
display in our homes, we came away as a stronger team, having been given the
opportunity to get to know each other a bit better.
Great job, boys! Let’s do it again in a couple months!