Dec 08, 2019 | Lyle Bissonnette | 760 views
Finalists! Success at the Halton Hills Thunder Memorial
In a season of rebuilding with expectations of development and progress, your Bantam Black Wolves continue to exceed those expectations with more tournament success.
The tournament got off to an unfortunate start with a really well-played game, but only one point to show for it as they tied London Bandits 2-2. Tonnes of chances on well-developed plays but unlucky bounces for the Wolves around the crease prevented the players from lighting the lamp a few more times. Thomas H received player of the game accolades.
Undeterred, your Wolves pushed ahead and played an exceptional game against a very fast and skilled West London team. Despite their efforts to match West London's speed and skill, your Wolves fell 2-1. Player of the game was awarded to Rudy T for his hard work in all three zones and on both sides of the puck.
Now in a "tie-(at least)-or-die" situation, your Wolves had to pull off a near-perfect game against Brantford (whose heads were undoubtedly swollen after leading but eventually tying Kitchener Red in the round-robin) in order to move onto the elimination round. Well, instead of a near-perfect game, they matched and out-smashed a fiery and chippy 99ers squad in a spirited affair. Proving that "we can play that way, too", they came away with a 3-2 win on a sick snipe by Sebastian (assisted in part by the linesman?) in the final minute of the game. The win wouldn't have been possible without some lights-out goaltending by the unflappable (does he have a pulse?) Carder - hence the player of the game salute!
On to the semi-finals against West London, and it was every Wolves' fans' hope that redemption was on the brunch menu. The players stepped up and played a near-perfect game and handed West London a 3-2 loss. The win was punctuated by a deceptive pass from Delsin behind the net to a wide-open and salivating Mason for the slam dunk (with authority!) winning goal with under three mnutes to play. The winning assist was a perfect finish to an unbelievable three period effort by Delsin, who was picked as player of the game.
The finals against Kitchener Red was now set and your Wolves came ready to play. Their game was the perfect illustration of SWEAT, SMART, STRONG mixed with a whole lot of teamwork, compete and coachability, especially in the first period. But, it wasn't to be; the Kitchener squad quickly capitalized on two opportunities in the second and clawing back against a two-goal deficit proved to be a difficult task. Certainly with no signs of quitting, your Wolves fought to the end in a 3-0 loss. Player of game was Mason, who exemplified SWEAT, SMART, STRONG.
Onwards and upwards! Watch out everyone....here come the BANTAM BLACK WOLVES!!!