Minor Atom MD Wolves are Guelph Powerplay Tournament Champions!, News, Minor Atom, 2018-2019, BB (Waterloo Minor Hockey)

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This Team is part of the 2018-2019 season, which is not set as the current season.
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Nov 18, 2018 | James Thompson | 1112 views
Minor Atom MD Wolves are Guelph Powerplay Tournament Champions!
The Waterloo MD Wolves have won their second tournament championship of the season in dramatic fashion!

It all began at 8am on Friday November 16, when the Wolves took to ice in Guelph against the Dundas Blues.  The lines of Lucas T, Luca S., Alec L., Dexter V., Cruz B., as well as Terry L., Wyatt N., Ryan P., Nohl A., Ryan T., put one and two goals on the board respectively.  Ryan P would place a nice hard shot on net at 3:35 in the first, followed soon by Luca S at 2:02 in the first, and then finally Wyatt N., at 6:59 in the third to bring the game home for the Wolves.

That afternoon, the Wolves were pitted against the Belleville Bulls.  The lines from the Dundas game would strike again, both netting 2, with Alec, Wyatt and Lucas putting the puck in the net to end the game with a 4-2 win (the final goal scorer was unable to be called by our team statisticians, and sadly I wasn’t given the game sheet for this one!)  Special mention should be given to Josh C. and Sam M. who tossed aside 15 or the 17 shots on our net.

The Wolves would then be called upon for a 7am meeting on Saturday with the North Durham Warriors.  This one would see scoring from the Callum T., Gavin A., Eason Y., Nohl A., and Ryan T., line as well as the Lucas T., Luca S., Alec L., Cruz B., Dexter V line.  The first two periods would go scoreless until 4:57 in the third when Ryan T would take a nice rush to the goal and make no mistake about it.  The Warriors would respond 13 seconds later with the equalizer, but it would be Luca S. who would seal the deal with a nail bitter with only 17 seconds left in the game.

That afternoon, the boys would take to the ice against the Ajax Knights.  This time would be different however.   Kevin, our trainer, would report that the boys were behaving silly and unfocused in the team warm-up.  In the dressing room, I had trouble getting their attention for the pre-game talk.  The boys would walk onto the ice and be taught a much needed lesson: never under-estimate an opponent.  For one of the first times this season, the boys would find themselves out-hustled and out-played.  Although the Wolves had more shots on goal than the Knights, the boys reverted to a more individualistic style of play, and so our offense was not as effective as it usually is.  After the game, I ran into one of the Ajax coaches in the parking lot and thanked him for helping us to provide a teachable moment to the boys: the Wolves coaches viewed this first loss of the season as a great opportunity.  In hockey, as in life, you can’t always win, and loses often help teams improve more than wins do.  In the end, the boys would fall 3-2 in a penalty filled affair. Even with the loss however, the boy’s prior performance in the tournament had qualified them for the semi-finals.

This would set the stage for a match against the London Bandits.  Kevin would report that the boys came to the warm-up laser focused.  For the pre-game talk, coaches would have the undivided attention of 17 kids, eager to get out on the ice and show how focused they can be – and focused they were.  This game saw the defence pair of Heath E and Nate B get a plus on the stats sheet as they helped create the game winning goal for the Wolves.  The scoring would begin with the Bandits at 7:12 of the first period, but Lucas T. would respond at 4:09 with the equalizer.  In the second, Alec L. would score the go-ahead goal, only to see the Bandits tie it up in the third at 6:23.  Ryan P would have none of it, and scored the game winning goal at 5:30 in the third period.

With that win, the boys advanced to the final against the hosts, the Guelph Junior Gryphons.  The game would showcase two teams willing to put their hearts on the line for the championship.  The Wolves would put lots of quality shots on their goalie, but to no avail: he would not be beat easily.  Finally, late in the first period, the line of Callum T., Gavin A., Eason Y., Cruz B. and Dexter V., managed to muster up an excellent play. Eason would send a nice pass to the front of the net where both Gavin A and Callum T were situated.  The puck would end up beautifully on Gavin’s stick and he would make no mistake about it, putting the game winner into the net, bringing the championship home for the Wolves! Sam M and Josh C both tuned in excellent performances on route to their first shutout of the tournament.  They were both awarded with tournament pucks to recognize their achievement.

They say that every team writes their own season story, replete with highs and lows, lessons learned and obstacles overcome. This tournament seemed to include all of those elements – but ending on a high is always a great way to go!  Well done Gentlemen, the coaching staff are very proud of all of your accomplishments!