This weekend Waterloo AtoMc Red traveled to London to participate in the Jayden Elmore Memorial Tournament.
The teams first game came Friday afternoon against Barrie AtoMc Red. Although the team was excited to be playing their first game of the tournament, they came out of the gates looking nervous. Barrie scored the only goal of the first period as Waterloo looked to find their feet.
The team found a small spark to begin the second period when Annett, Noble, and Perry scored to tie the game 1-1. The team was unable to hold any momentum though as Barrie scored just one minute later to regain the lead. Barrie continued the pressure and was able to score again three minutes later to take a 3-1 lead. Waterloo would slowly start to turn things around near the end of the period though and Annett, Noble, and Perry scored again to cut the lead to one.
Waterloo continued to pressure in the third and strong shifts by Horvath, Wagner, and Kytola as well as Sothern, McGoldrick, and Smith resulted in quality scoring opportunities. The period would tick by though, and even with the goalie pulled the team was unable to tie the game as it ended with a final score of 3-2.
The defense pairings of Kelly and Hankins; Reeve and Domerchie; Endres and Steffler played well. Their play was particularly impressive in the third, holding Barrie off of the score sheet giving the forwards a chance to tie the game.
Storms played a good game in net. He also helped the team in the third period making important saves to keep Waterloo within one.
Following the loss, the team’s next game didn't come until Saturday morning against London SSE B4. Both teams came ready to play which was evident in the amount of goals scored. London opened the scoring quickly taking a 1-0 lead just forty seconds in. The rest of the period did not see much action compared to the rest of the game, but Annett, Noble, and Perry were able to score before the end of the frame to tie the game.
London would score quickly to open the period again though, taking a 2-1 lead fifty seconds in. At the half way point of the period is when the scoring really picked up. Smith, Sothern, and McGoldrick started things off followed by Annett, Noble, and Perry only sixteen seconds later to take a 3-2 lead. The lead would not last though as London responded with a goal of their own only seven seconds after the following face-off. After the rush of goals the teams would finish the period tied 3-3.
The third period proved to be just as exciting as the second. This time Waterloo scored early in the period to take a one goal lead. Halfway through the period though London battled back with two goals of their own to reclaim a 5-4 lead. Waterloo was able to maintain their composure and pressure by all lines including Horvath, Wagner, and Kytola resulted in offensive opportunities. The hard work and effort paid off when Annett, Noble, and Perry scored once again with only a minute and a half left to tie the game 5-5 and record one point for the team’s efforts.
Although the opposition was able to score five goals, the defensemen Kelly, Hankins, Reeve, Domerchie, Endres, Steffler, and Paiva-Bernard played well. All five London goals were scored by one skilled London player. The defense were able to stop him, and the rest of the London team on a number of other rushes.
The same can be said about goaltender Storms. He made plenty of important saves on a number of skilled London players that kept Waterloo in the game.
Following a loss and a tie, Waterloo knew that they now needed a win and help to move onto the semi finals on Sunday. With the parents and coaches closely watching to see if they would get the help they needed, the players prepared for what they could control against Newmarket Paws Personal Pet Care. After hearing that they did in fact still have a chance to move on, the team was pumped to take to the ice. The game would prove to be a difficult one though as Waterloo was forced to kill off five penalties and enjoyed zero power plays.
Both teams played a tight first period and it would take seven minutes before Newmarket opened the scoring. Waterloo would answer before the end of the period when Kytola, Horvath, and Wagner scored to tie the game.
The second period was not a strong period for Waterloo. They not only found themselves in penalty trouble but watched Newmarket score early in the period, and again with thirteen seconds remaining to take a 3-1 lead.
The third period was when Waterloo turned their play, and their tournament around. Horvath, Wagner, and Kytola scored again to cut the league to one. It was then the defensemen’s time to shine. Along with penalty killing forwards including Perry and Wagner; the defensemen Kelly, Hankins, Reeve, Domerchie, Endres, Steffler, and Paiva-Bernard killed off two penalties to keep Waterloo within one. Then with a minute and a half left, Waterloo proved that the team will never quit. With the goalie pulled and Sothern, Horvath, Annett, and Noble on offense the team was able to tie the game. Just when you thought the game couldn't get any crazier, it did. Both teams were playing for the win and when Newmarket had sustained possession in Waterloo’s zone, they pulled their goalie. Waterloo was able to survive a mad scramble and with ten seconds left Annett, Noble, and Horvath capped off the amazing comeback scoring an empty net goal to win the game 4-3.
Storms played a courageous game in net, making important saves to help the team battle through a number of penalty kills.
After fighting their way into the semi finals Waterloo faced the Newmarket Tigers for a chance to play in the finals. After the third period in the previous game, Waterloo took to the ice as a different team. Even faced with two early penalty kills, the team was flying. Annett with the help of Reeve and Domerchie got the team rolling scoring a short handed goal five minutes into the period. That was quickly followed up by another shorthanded goal, on a five on three no less, by Horvath. The team continued to roll with an even strength goal by Annett, Noble, and Horvath to take a 3-0 lead into the second period.
Newmarket would not quit though, and they fought hard to score a goal mid way through the second to cut the lead to two. The following shift the line of Annett, Noble, and Horvath would answer quickly, scoring to put the game away.
The team never did quit though, and they added to more goals in the third period. The first came from defensemen Hankins, with the help of his defensive partner Kelly. The second came from Paiva-Bernard, Wagner, and Kytola when a hard working shift paid off in a goal.
It was evident that the team’s offensive lines including Sothern, Smith, McGoldrick, Perry were firing on all cylinders. All three lines were able to produce a number of scoring chances.
The same can be said about the defense. All three pairings including Endres and Steffler played a fantastic game offensively. It was evident on the score sheet that the pairings played well on the blue line, helping the forwards maintain pressure.
Storms played another confident game. His strong play gave the team a boost of confidence aiding them in their offensive explosion.
After a long weekend including four games of hockey, Waterloo had one game remaining against the home town London SSE A4. With the parents cheering hard the team started the game off on the right foot when Noble, Annett, and Horvath opened the scoring three minutes into the opening period. Neither team would score through the remainder of the period, but Waterloo was clearly hungry to win the game.
The two teams would battle through most of the second period with back and forth power play opportunities, as neither team was able to capitalize on six of the penalties called in the period. However with just over two minutes remaining Sothern, McGoldrick, and Smith scored to give Waterloo a 2-0 lead.
Both teams continued to play a tight game into the third period, after back and forth chances London scored with five minutes remaining to cut the lead to 2-1. However Waterloo was playing with a confidence that we had not yet seen this season. They responded only forty seconds later when Noble, Annett, and Horvath scored again to regain the two goal lead. The same line, who had been dominant since the semi finals, scored once again with nine seconds left to make the final score 4-1.
Although Paiva-Bernard, Wagner, and Kytola did not score a goal in the game, they were a major difference for Waterloo. Every shift they were on they ice they not only played solid defensively, but set the tone for the rest of the team with hard working offensive efforts.
The same can be said for the defense pairings of Kelly and Hankins; Reeve and Domerchie; Endres and Steffler. Each and every pairing played a gem of a defensive game. They played an almost perfect game in their own end making the first outlet pass look easy as well stopping many offensive rushes by a talented London team.
Storms played his usual game in net. He played with confidence the entire game challenging shooters so well that he was almost impossible to beat.
From all of the coaches we are glad to hear that all of the players and parents had a lot of fun this past weekend. Thank you to all of the players for giving your best effort each and every game this tournament. You should all be proud of how well you played and for what you have accomplished. Thanks to the parents for making this weekend possible and for making it so much fun. We are very happy to win the tournament, but just as happy to enjoy a weekend with the kids and the parents creating a team atmosphere that will continue throughout the remainder of the season! GO RED GO!