After a 3-1 loss, on March 19th, in the 2nd game of the Championship series, the Mad Dogs came back for game three and four with a heightened sense of determination and desire.
Game 3 took place on Friday March 22nd in front of
a packed Palmerston Arena. The boys main
focus was to beat the Delhi goalie who stood on his head to basically shut them
down the previous game. The Mad Dogs put
their practice strategies into play and managed to rip pucks past the Delhi goalie
on 7 different occasions. With a 7-3
win, Minto now led the series 2 games to 1 over Delhi. Way to dig deep boys!!
On Saturday March 23rd, the PeeWee Rep Family
boarded a bus to head to Delhi with high hopes of bringing home the
Championship. Sitting back watching, there were many vibes floating around the
bus that afternoon ..... excitement, nervousness, focused determination and
best of all camaraderie.
As the Minto fans took their seats in the stands, the boys
and coaches took to the ice. The boys
had that “calm, down to business” aura about them as they warmed up (still
amazes me that these are our otherwise animated, crazy kids).
After a few minutes of play, Delhi managed to light the
scoreboard up first – it seemed the boys were in for a battle. Instantly the Mad Dogs ratcheted it up a
notch and answered with shorthanded goal of their own. With a fantastic display of teamwork, great
passes, grit and determination Minto managed to put 3 more unanswered goals of
their own between the Delhi pipes. At
the final buzzer, with a 4-1 score the Minto PeeWee Reps were OMHA Champions!!!!
At center ice, silver medals were handed out to a very
deserving Delhi team. Great job Delhi & congratulations on a great series!!
The moment the Boys, Coaches, Parents and all fans were
waiting for ..... Gold Medals and the OMHA Championship Cup were presented to
the Minto PeeWee Reps!! After many
victory laps, team photos, hugs, tears and huge grins of pride the team headed
off the ice to the dressing room where head coach Brian Zabel surprised them
with celebratory non-alcoholic champagne!! How awesome!!!
Since amalgamation, Minto hasn't won an OMHA Championship.
That being said, pre-amalgamation Harriston won the same cup in 1963-64, almost
50 years ago. What an
accomplishment - Way to go Team!!!
It's easy for a Parent to say “our kids deserved to
win”, but it is my true belief that this
team of young men really did deserve to win!
They have put their hearts, souls and minds into their season of hockey. Even while watching their practices this
season, you can see the eagerness to learn new skills, the drive to master
those skills and the pride when it all came together. They have thrived through many highs, battled
through a couple of lows but have always done it as a Team and with such class
and maturity beyond their years. What a
fantastic group of boys! You guys are a
true example of the word “teammates”.
Thank you for allowing us to follow along your journey this season ....
it has been one amazing ride!!! Way to
go Mad Dogs!!!!!!
Congratulations to the Minto PeeWee Rep Team &
entire Coaching Staff ..... you did it!!!
2012-2013 OHMA Champs!!!!