The Strathroy Midget Local League Blue Team, sponsored by Doug and Marion’s Bike Sales
and Repairs and D & M Trophy & Sports, recently captured the gold medal
at the local John Henry Memorial tournament held Dec 27th – 30th, 2014. The team posted a 3-1 record in round-robin
play to finish first in Pool B before capturing the title by defeating the Pool
A champions in a close fought overtime contest.
Strathroy opened the tournament on Dec 27th with a 5-2 victory against Lambton Middlesex West Division league rival Mt. Brydges Cougars Blue team. Graham Moddle opened the scoring for the Jr. Rockets on a pass from Wilson to make it 1-0 in the first period. After two periods Strathroy would lead 3-1 as Lucas Wilson and Josh Flenniken tallied markers for Strathroy with assists coming from Burgess (2), Newell and Knapman. Mt. Brydges drew close, making it 3-2 in the third period before the Jr. Rockets pulled away for the victory on goals by Jimmy Knapman and Buck Wright with assists earned by Newell, Kuindersma, Littlejohn and Boere. Aaron Glover played a solid game in net for Strathroy and picked up the goaltending win.
Next up for Strathroy was a critical game on Dec 28th against the Durham Crusaders who entered the contest with a 2-0 record. With a win, it was likely that Durham would clinch top spot in the pool. The game would see Strathroy carry the play for the most part, but find themselves unable to beat a strong Durham net minder. The scoreless tie was broken in the second period as Caleb Vandenberk took a pass from Wilson and completed a solo rush up ice with a wrist shot to the top corner. The game would remain an anxious 1-0 until Aiden Newell fought through a trio of Durham defenders to ice the game with an empty net goal to make the final score 2-0. Makayleigh Timmington turned aside everything sent her way to secure the shutout victory in net for the Jr. Rockets.
Game #3 would see Strathroy face another Lambton Middlesex West Division league rival in the East Lambton Eagles on Dec 29th. A victory would mean securing first place in Pool B, but the train was derailed as East Lambton scored a 3-0 victory. Two early goals against put the Jr. Rockets behind from the start and with a succession of penalties the rest of the way, there would be no comeback.
With a 2-1 record, the path to the gold medal game was still in sight, but Strathroy would need to win in regulation time later that same day against the Lambton Shores Predators, another Lambton Middlesex West Division league rival. Collin Wyatt opened the scoring for Strathroy on a long slap shot, from Boere and Vandenberk, followed by Wright scoring on a scramble in front of the opposition net from Knapman and Newell, to make it 2-0 in the first period. Lambton Shores would score next to close to 2-1, but the Jr. Rockets answered twice more soon after to make it 4-1 on second period goals from Wilson and Flenniken as Kuindersma (2) and Boere drew helpers. After the Predators made it 4-2, Strathroy put it away with two more goals in the third period as Wyatt got credit for his second of the game on an own goal by Lambton Shores, and Gavin Littlejohn converted from in close on a Knapman rush to make the final score 6-2, a result that booked a ticket to the gold medal game for the team. Makayleigh Timmington picked up her second win of the tournament in net for the Jr. Rockets.
The gold medal game on December 30th featured Strathroy against a Lambeth Lancers team that went undefeated in Pool A, outscoring the opposition 26-3. Combine that with their undefeated league record in the Lambton Middlesex East Division, and it meant that the Jr. Rockets would need to turn in their best game of the tournament to gain the victory. And they did. The game would be a tight contest throughout as the first period ended scoreless. After fighting off a couple of penalties, Strathroy opened the scoring in the second period as Knapman kept the puck in deep to Kuindersma who found Flenniken alone in the slot. Flenniken buried it to make it 1-0. The game would stay that way as Timmington and the Lambeth goalie (Smibert) traded saves. Mid-way through the third period, the Lancers tied it up at 1-1, cashing in on a 2-on-1 break. The teams would exchange chances the rest of the way with Strathroy holding a slight edge, but there would be no further scoring and the game went to a 5 minute 3-on-3 overtime. Mid-way through the extra period a Knapman blast circled the Lambeth zone and Vandenberk pinched to keep the puck in at the blue line. The resulting scrum saw almost all the players on the ice fighting for the puck along the boards. The Jr. Rockets were able to make a player change, and Flenniken came off the bench to retrieve the puck out of the pile. Flenniken beat the remaining Lambeth defender and outlasted the Lambeth net minder on a deke to the glove side for his 2nd goal of the game and the tournament winner.
Congratulations to all team members and the coaching staff on a great tournament victory. Special shout out goes to the overall team defensive performance that saw a 4-1 record achieved in which only 8 goals were allowed, led by Goaltenders Aaron Glover and Makayleigh Timmington and defensemen Josh Boere, Logan Burgess, Jimmy Knapman, and Caleb Vandenberk.
Attached picture legend:
Strathroy Midget LL Blue Jr. Rockets after capturing the gold medal at the 2014 John Henry Memorial tournament (Dec 27-30th)
Bottom Row (L to R) – Aaron Glover, Makayleigh Timmington
Middle Row (L to R) – Jimmy Knapman, Lucas Wilson, Caleb Vandenberk, Josh Flenniken, Logan Burgess, Gavin Littlejohn
Top Row (L to R) - Rob Littlejohn (Trainer), Pat Flenniken (Manager), Josh Boere, Aiden Newell, Graham Moddle, Eric Kuindersma, Buck Wright, Collin Wyatt, Brian Boere (Asst. Coach) Tim Newell (Head Coach).
Missing from photo is Don Vandenberk (Asst. Coach), Tricia Wilson (Parent Rep).