Strathroy’s 2013 John Henry Memorial Tournament began on
Friday, December 27th. In their first game of the event, the Strathroy
Bantam LL Blue team took on the Southwest Bullets. Anyone watching that night
could have been forgiven for thinking that the Bantam Blue team had lost their
mojo. Despite a seemingly even match-up, the boys played without the enthusiasm
or teamwork that they had recently displayed; the game ended with Southwest
winning 1-0. Had our boys continued in the same vein for the duration of the
tournament, the end-result might well have been a bust. This Bantam LL Blue
team, however, seems to enjoy coming out from behind and proving that anything
is possible.
In their 2nd match-up of the tournament, Bantam Blue took on Strathroy Bantam LL Red. From the opening face-off, it was clear that both teams were there to win; it was simply a matter of which team would actually deliver. By the end of the 2nd period, the score was 3-3; goals for our team were earned by Tyler S. and Griffin S., with assists going to Griffin S., Jacob B., Tyler S. and Adam E.. For the third period both teams played strong defensively and managed to maintain the status quo, resulting in the need for a 3-on-3, 5-minute overtime period. Again, both teams came out strong; in the end, however, Tyler S. of the Bantam Blue team managed to score, assisted by Danny P., giving the much-needed win to our boys.
Sunday evening saw the Bantam Blue team playing against the East Lambton Eagles. Once again, our boys seemed determined to do what they needed to do to secure a win. Taking it one period at a time, they maintained their focus, enthusiasm, commitment and solid teamwork. During the first period, goals were scored by Jacob B. (assisted by Griffin S. and Andrew W.) and Duncan M. (assisted by Jacob B. and Andrew W.). In the 2nd period, East Lambton managed to put one past our goalie; this was quickly countered by a goal for our team by Lucas T. (assisted by Luke L.). Early in the 3rd period, Griffin S. managed our team’s 4th goal, assisted by Jacob B. and Duncan M.. East Lambton put one more in our net, however, it wasn’t enough for them to come back from behind. The final score of the game was 4-2 for Strathroy Bantam Blue. At the end of round robin play, factoring in points earned by all teams, our performance in the first three games was enough to secure our place in the gold-medal game.
On Monday, December 30, 2013 at 12 noon, Strathroy’s Bantam Blue faced the Southwest Bullets once again. Our boys seemed single-minded in their quest to secure the win. The first period was scoreless for both teams. Early in the 2nd period, Griffin S. managed the first goal of the game, assisted by Andrew W. and Duncan M.. The Southwest Bullets played strong defensively for the rest of the period, preventing any additional goals from making their way past their goalie. Our own goalie, Ben F., made several spectacular saves ensuring that the Southwest tally remained at zero. In the third period, with less than a minute to go, Southwest pulled their goalie to give them an extra player advantage. It wasn’t enough, however, and our own Duncan M. took advantage of the empty net to score one last goal, assisted by Andrew W. and Ryan J. The final score was 2-0, earning goalie Ben F. a shutout, and the Bantam Blue team a well-deserved gold medal!
Congratulations Bantam Blue! Way to go!
(P.S. -- bench staff, the ties looked sharp!)