The Waterloo Wolves U16 AA/A team were finalists in the
Burlington Raiders Tournament just coming up short against the Stittsville
Rams. It was a heart breaking 4 to 3 shootout loss that showed off a relentless
team that dominated possession and play in the finals before falling 4 to 3.
In the end it almost appeared as though the Zamboni would only be needed on one end of the ice it was that one sided in the 3rd and overtime. But hockey doesn’t always reward the deserving!
In the round robin, the Wolves started slowly against the Rams losing 4 to 2. Griffin Beddis opened the scoring for the Wolves from Cole Hunsberger and Hunsberger got another assist on the Matthew Ball goal. Next up, the Wolves faced the London Mustang Purple and won 6-0. Hunsberger scored from Ball and Declan Uniac. Uniac scored from Ball. Cole Ledgister scored from Jackson Andrews and then Andrews got a short-handed goal from Jaxon Broda. Cooper Gaul had a rocket from the point to score and Hunsberger added the final goal from Uniac and Jackson McNichol. The third game in the round robin was forfeited by the Oakville Rangers due to an illness in their only goalie’s family and the Wolves took a 3 to 0 win as a result. The rest allowed the Wolves to continue rolling and they beat the Osgoode Romans 5 to 0. Michael Wei had a pair of goals with his first from Ball and the second from Uniac. Gaul had his second of the tournament from Riley Webster and Beddis. Beddis added another assist on a Hunsberger goal and Ethan Wasylyshyn got on the board from Jackson Deitz.
The Wolves headed into the semifinal game looking to snap the semi curse that saw the team loss back-to-back tournament semifinal games. The team did just that winning 7 to 0! Hunsberger scored from Broda. Tim Hodson scored from Ben Yong. Hunter McMurdo scored from McNichol. Hodson added his second from Wei. Uniac scored from Hunsberger. Wei scored from Hodson and McMurdo and Beddis scored unassisted. In the finals, Wasylyshyn had a beauty individual effort beating two defenders to score. Uniac had the second goal from Hunsberger and Hunsberger tied the game from Ball.
Nate Sexton and Jack Driscoll both had stand out tournaments. Both recorded shutouts and both gave the team a chance to win in every game. The goalies were hard workers for the team as always and were focused and dialed into the play making sure the team could get the win.
The players on the Wolves showed dedication and a never give up attitude. The players were class acts on and off the ice and made their coaches and parents proud. Obviously, second place is not what the players wanted but it was another step forward and another tournament of lessons that will come in handy when the team returns to league play looking to win the Alliance banner.
Thank you, players, for another reason to be proud! Go Wolves!!!