This past weekend the Minto Mad Dogs Midget Rep Hockey Club traveled to Forest, ON to compete in the International Silver Stick Finals tournament.
Game 1 of round robin play was early Friday morning against Glencoe &Bothwell, now called Southwest. Our boys got off to a quick start and didn’t let up, taking the game 7-1. The second game took place early Friday afternoon against Cincinnati, Ohio. This game was back and forth for the most part but when the final buzzer went Minto won the game 5-3.
Saturday Minto got off to a shaky start against Wingham, giving up an early goal, and Wingham never looked back. The relentless Wingham fore check was too much for Minto to handle, resulting in a 5-2 loss for the Mad Dogs. With that loss, Minto dropped into 2nd place but still had a berth into the semi-finals.
Saturday night Cayuga let Minto get off to
a great start by grabbing a 2 goal lead in the 1st period. Some sloppy play in the early part of the
second period allowed Cayuga to get one goal back, until the goal margin was
regained later in the period. Mid-way
into the third period Cayuga clawed back again with another goal taking the
game to 3-2, but with 30 seconds left in the game Minto shot into an empty net
to take the game 4-2 for a berth in the finals.
In the finals Minto would have to play
Wingham once again. Going into this game
the boys knew a win would be difficult but not impossible, as they were down
one coach and three players. The game
began as a tight checking affair, with neither team willing to give an
inch. Late in the first, Wingham
received a penalty and the Mad Dogs were able to capitalize on the opportunity,
taking a 1-0 lead.
The second period was highlighted only by a
goal scored by Minto 40 seconds in, upping the lead to 2-0.
Entering the third, Wingham knew that their
backs were against the wall. They came
out flying, dominating the puck and scoring one minute into the period and then
tying the game 14 seconds after that. It
took time for the boys to settle down and get back to our game plan. The third period ended with the score knotted
up and just like in the Regional Silver Stick Final, overtime was required.
Overtime was back and forth hockey like the
rest of the game, with one team waiting to capitalize on the other’s
mistake. Minto won that battle with a
broken play down in Wingham’s end as Brad Binkle was walked out of the corner
and put the puck by the Wingham goalie to win the tournament.
For most of these boys it was the second
kick at the can for this tournament, which is really special as most players
don’t even get a chance to play in tournament like this. So being a finalist last year and Champion
this year is quite an accomplishment.
Also hats off to the Pee Wee players and parents. Finishing second place in an six team tournament is something a coach, player, and parent can be proud of. If you consider that the Silverstick featured 6 regional champions, who each qualified by beating out 8 teams, that would mean your team finished 2nd out of 48 entrants. Finishing 2nd place in a tournament featuring 48 teams is something our entire community can be proud of.
Congratulations to both teams!!!