Jan 03, 2014 | ccowan | 1168 views
'A' Regional Silver Stick Finalists
The Strathroy Atom Rep team was in Alvinston over the holidays, with a goal to make the 'A' Regional Silver Stick Finals. This would be no easy feat as they would have to go through some very strong 'A' and 'BB' teams to get there.
They opened the Round Robin against a quick team from North London. The Rockets were up for the challenge though as Jayden Kinchen led the way. Just under a minute in, Kinchen drove hard to the net on a wraparound and buried it past the tender for the 1st goal of the tournament. Easton Cowan tallied the assist. With the game tied 1-1 in the 3rd, Kinchen then found Ashton Peters open in the slot, where Peters made no mistake sniping the game winner and sealing a 2-1 victory. Griffin Urquhart was very sharp in net and won the game's MVP award for turning away 19 of the 20 shots he faced.
In the final Round Robin game, The Rockets faced a familiar foe from Dorchester. These evenly matched teams met 3 times already this season, splitting the games with a win, a loss, and a tie. The winner of this game would get a bye to the Semi Finals, while the loser would go to the Quarters. Dorchester carried a 2-0 lead late into the 2nd period before Kinchen got his 2nd of the tournament, to cut the lead in half, as he buried a rebound off a shot from Cowan. Late in the 3rd, Logan Parker threw one towards the net which snuck past the goalie to tie the game at 2. Dorchester answered back quickly though, to retake the lead and then added an empty netter to hand Strathroy a 4-2 loss. Kinchen earned the game's MVP award for skating hard on the forecheck and backcheck every shift and for tallying a goal.
The loss sent Strathroy to the Quarter Finals where they met up with another Shamrock League rival, St. Marys. Coming off a sub-par performance against Dorchester, The Rockets did not have momentum on their side. Things quickly got worse when St. Marys scored 28 seconds into the game to take an early 1-0 lead. The Rockets showed a tremendous amount of character and determination though, staying positive and continuing to battle hard. 3 minutes later, Lucas Van Heeswyk got his team going, with a beautiful tip in off a great point shot from JT Hodgins. Cowan picked up an assist on the goal. This really fueled The Rockets momentum and a couple minutes later, Parker Andersson sprung loose for a breakaway, where he rifled one top cheese to give his team a 2-1 lead. St Marys tied it up late in the 2nd but The Rockets answered right back. Andersson received a pass out front from Kinchen and went bar down to retake the lead, 3-2. Mark Hewitt was flying all game and battling hard in the dirty areas. This effort paid off early in the 3rd, as he notched the insurance marker, pouncing on a rebound from another good point shot by Hodgins. A very strong game by the entire Rockets team got them a 4-2 win and a ticket into the Semi Finals. Andersson was awarded the game's MVP for skating hard every shift and for putting on a snipe show.
In the Semi Finals, The Rockets faced Dorchester, yet again. The Rockets came out strong and opened the scoring less than 3 minutes in, with an accurate point shot from Noah Williams. L Van Heeswyk and Parker tallied the assists. It was a tight checking game and the score remained 1-0 until just under 3 minutes left in the game. Dylan White's aggressive forecheck then caused a turnover and with a wraparound, he buried the insurance marker. Urquhart made some spectacular saves again to earn a shutout and seal the 2-0 win for his team. Parker worked hard in both ends of the ice and finished the game with an assist and a +2 rating, to earn the game's MVP award. Rowan Dortmans (who finished the tournament with a team leading +2), Clayton Derbyshire, Bradley Van Heeswyk, Hodgins, and Williams, had their best game of the year as a defensive unit. Their heads up passing and focus defensively led The Rockets to reach their goal of making the Regional Silver Stick Finals.
The Rockets faced a very fast and very strong team from Erie North Shore in The Finals. Erie North Shore came out of the gate like kids possessed and took an early 2-0 lead in the 1st. The Rockets could have easily folded like a cheap suit here but to no surprise they did not. Urquhart, with tremendous support from his great teammate Lukas Brants, dug deep and shut the door the rest of the way. The Rockets kept fighting and battling hard and the momentum started to shift in their favour midway through the game. Early in the 3rd period, Cowan finally got The Rockets on the board, burying a rebound from the top of the crease. Hewitt and B Van Heeswyk picked up assists on the play. The Rockets kept at it and mustered up scoring chance after scoring chance but just couldn't get another one past the Erie North Shore goalie. The Rockets suffered a 2-1 loss in a very hard fought battle that could have gone either way. Cowan's goal and his relentless effort on the attack in both ends of the ice earned him the game's MVP Award.
The coaching staff was very proud of the boys for their efforts. They displayed a tremendous amount of character and class all tournament long. The boys were rewarded for this as they lined up along the blue line after the game, and the Tournament Convenor announced an invitation to International Silver Stick. This will be held in Sarnia on January 17th-19th. Check the website (SDMHA.org) for schedule updates and come on out to support your Strathroy Atom Rep Hockey Team.
Written by Kyle Cowan