Midget Rep International Silver Stick Finalists
As I try and piece together our weekend wrap up
in a quick article for everyone, I can’t find the right words to say on how
proud I am of my team.
While losing in the finals is a tough pill to swallow, we can hang our helmets on the fact that it took an “A” ranked team out of St. Clair Shores, MI to defeat us; a team that we had already managed to defeat in the tournament 1-0.
Our team started the tournament with a 2-1 win over Greensborough, NC, and then beat St. Clair Shore’s in a thrilling overtime game. Saturday’s game needed a shootout against Lambton Shores with our goalie, Cole Wardlaw, stepping up and shutting the door. That win put us in 1st in our pool. Sunday morning in the semi finals we played Lucan, and with some solid D we defeated them 3-1, putting us in the finals.
St. Clair Shores got off to a quick start in the championship game and we had to play catch up. If we could have that first period back and play it again I am sure the result would have been different, but we ended up losing 5-1. The true measure of our team was that we accepted our loss with class, respect for our opponents, and respect for the game.
Finishing second place in an eight team tournament is something a coach, the players, and parents can be proud of. If you consider that the Silver Stick featured 8 regional champions, who each qualified by beating out 8 teams, that would mean our team finished 2nd out of 64 entrants. Finishing 2nd place in a tournament featuring 64 teams is something our entire community can be proud of.
Congratulations gentlemen, now let’s get our 15!