On September 3, 1928 Professor Alexander Fleming made a startling discovery in his lab, leading to the development of Penicillin – some estimates put the number of lives saved at over 200 million...
On October 24, 1945 the United Nations was formed, marking the most ambitious push for peace and stability that the modern world had ever seen. On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong placed two feet on the lunar surface, heralding an age of unprecedented technological advancement. How could anything else even be considered to be put alongside such a list? Clearly, accomplishments in tier 3 Canadian Minor Atom Hockey must be one of the few contenders, no?!? On Sunday December 9, 2018, the Waterloo Wolves Minor Atom MD team came home as tournament champions for their third straight time this season, having gone up against some very strong teams in the 2018 Oshawa Hockeyfest Tournament!
This tournament would see the Wolves with a surprisingly nice start time for their first game. The boys would show up to play the Belleville Jr Bulls well rested and ready to dig in. The Wolves were too much for the Jr Bulls to handle, with a hat trick recorded by Ryan P, 2 goals from Callum T, and 1 from Eason Y, Lucas T, Luca S, Terry L (from Gavin A, or Gavin A from Terry L – there was disagreement on this one between our stats department and the official game sheet!), and one from our D, Cruzer Bruzer B. The defensive duo of Heath E and Nate B would lead the D with a +4 on the stats sheet.
That afternoon, the Wolves took to the ice to face the Whitby Wildcats. The first period would feature some back and forth hockey, but with little in the way of solid chances for either team. At 10:57 in the second, the Wildcats would strike first, putting the Wolves behind by one. The score would remain this way until 11:59 in the third when Ryan P took a nice pass from Lucas T and put it in the back of the net to even the score. Although things looked to be heading for a 1-1 tie, the Wildcats would put a second goal on the board with little more than 2 minutes remaining in the third, to put the Wolves in a desperate situation. Around the 1:30 mark, the Wolves would end up offside, with the faceoff coming outside of the O-Zone. The Wolves opted to pull the goalie in hopes of generating some quick offense. Wyatt N managed to win the draw and push the puck into the Wildcat's zone. At this point, the Wolves began their 6-player attack and a scramble ensued until Ryan P got the puck on his stick and found the top corner to tie things up, and that’s the way it would end. Cruz B and Dexter V lead the way for the defense with a +1 on the stats sheet.
The next morning, the boys would wake up to play the Ajax Knights. For those who may have forgotten, this is the team that dealt the Wolves their first loss of the season. The Wolves would come out hot, but had trouble beating their goalie. It took until 6:07 in the second when Gavin A got the ball rolling for the Wolves with a nice steal in the offensive zone to pocket an unassisted goal. Unfortunately, the celebration was short lived as 45 seconds later the Knights tied it up. The final 10 seconds of the game featured an intense scramble in the Wolves defensive zone, but the game would remain tied in the end. Sam M and Josh C would face a few great offensive opportunities for the Knights, but came up strong to keep the game tied. The Defense line of Heath E and Nate B would end the game with a +1.
One win and two ties was enough to see the Wolves finish first in their division, and the boys would get the rest of the day off. They spent it on a team lunch and a movie. It should be pointed out that the manager of Kelsey’s commented on how well behaved the boys are. I’m used to hearing how strong we are on the ice, but this one caught me a bit off guard! Well done boys!! The next morning would feature the Georgina Blaze against the Wolves in the semi-finals. Waterloo would overwhelm the Blaze with 2 goals from Lucas T, one from Ryan P, and each member of the Callum T, Wyatt N, Alec L line put one in the net. Dexter V and Cruz B both got themselves on the scoring sheet with assists and lead the D with a +4 on the stats sheet.
This would set the stage for the final, which would feature Waterloo up against a strong offensive team: the Caledon Hawks. This game would put the Wolves in new territory as Caledon had a couple big kids on their team that could really skate with the puck. At times it seemed as though it took all 5 Wolves just to slow them down, and this created a new test for our goalies. The scoring began in the middle of a line change in the first period where Gavin A had just stepped on the ice to give a nice pass over to Ryan P who scored a solid top corner goal. Unfortunately, under 2 minutes later, the Wolves would get caught by a strong rush from the Hawks, and the boys from Caledon made no mistake about it and made the Wolves pay for their defensive lapse. The remainder of the first, and all of the second would feature a back-and-forth show which left all parents on edge. After constant pressure from both sides, it took until 6:48 in the third for Wyatt N to break the deadlock with a nice blast from the slot. In the end, the Wolves would take the championship 2-1. In this game, it would be the defensive duo of Ryan T and Nohl A who would lead the plus/minus stat for the defence. Sam M and Josh C faced what was one of their toughest tests of season, tossing aside all but one of the 22 shots put at them, including some very difficult ones. Because of their stellar performance when the going gets tough, our goalies were called upon to accept the tournament cup for the Wolves.
Congratulations are in order again for these young gentlemen from Waterloo – three tournament championships in a row is a feat that I’m sure the boys, their parents and the coaching staff will not forget for quite some time. Keep working hard and having fun Wolves!
-Coach James