Written by Colin Morano
After disposing of Goderich in the WOAA Semi-final the Saugeen Shores Storm Scoreboard Sports Too/Ralph’s Hi-Way Shopette Pee Wee AE team had a date with the three time defending WOAA Pee Wee AE Champion Listowel Cyclones in the 2011 WOAA Pee Wee AE final.
The series kicked off on Sat Jan 29 in Listowel. It was a close game with both teams playing hard. Special teams ended up being the difference as Listowel scored twice on the power play to take the first game 2-0. Jake Ackert had a strong game in goal for the Storm turning Listowel away on several good scoring chances.
The next day Game 2 of the series was played at the Plex in Port Elgin. Knowing they didn’t want to go down 2-0 in the best of five series, Saugeen Shores came out storming. Again the game was a close-knit affair with play back and forth. Dylan Pomroy opened the scoring for the Storm at 4:41 on a feed from Kenneth Bollen. After exchanging several scoring chances Listowel then tied the game late in the first. The Storm regained the lead at 5:53 of the second period when Malcolm McIntosh bulged the twine after being set-up by Coleton McNabb. The rest of the game was tight checking. Listowel pressured the Storm late in the game, but thanks to strong defense from Carter Swanson, Duncan Wilkinson, Brendan Morano and Jakob Greig and timely saves by Cameron Plante the boys kept Listowel from scoring the equalizer and skated away with a 2-1 win.
Pivotal Game 3 of the final was on Tue Feb 1 at 8:00pm in Listowel. With the series tied at 1, both teams were looking to take the lead. The Storm overcame early controversy as scheduled starter for the game Jacob Ackert got injured in warm-up so Cameron Plante had to fill in on short notice. The Storm kept Listowel at bay early as the hometown team pushed hard early in the game. The game was a spirited match with lots of hits. Eventually Listowel opened the scoring mid-way through the first. The second period was scoreless, but the Storm’s forwards were pushing hard to score the equalizer. Then 25 seconds into the 3rd period, Kenneth Bollen notched the equalizer for the Storm with Dylan Pomroy and Troy Courneyea collecting the assists. The teams continued to work hard for the rest of the 3rd period with Cameron Plante making some key saves for the Storm. It was looking like the game was heading for overtime as the clocked ticked down. But with 1:59 left in the game Brendan Morano passed the puck to Dylan Pomroy who fired home the game winner giving the Storm a 2-1 series lead.
The Storm was looking to finish the series off and capture the WOAA Championship in front of their hometown fans in Port Elgin on Fri Feb 4th. Listowel came out hard and took an early 1-0 lead mid-way through the first. The Storm then tied the game up with 6:05 left in the first period when Kenneth Bollen beat the Listowel goalie with a nice wrist shot to the far side of the net. Line mates Dylan Pomroy and Troy Courneyea earned the assists. Jake Ackert kept the Storm in it as Listowel had several good scoring chances. Thanks to some good back checking by forwards Coleton Heipel, Aidan Akerman and Chris Gilbert to help out their defense, the game remained tied until Listowel scored the go ahead goal with 11:48 to go in the second period. This took a little wind out of the Storm sails and the boys were having trouble clearing their zone and Listowel scored to take a 3-1 lead with 5:05 gone in the third. However the Storm didn’t roll over and fought to get back into the game. Forward Brennan Harvie had a couple nice hits pumping up his team and finally the Storm’s Malcolm McIntosh got the Storm to within one with 8:58 left in the final frame on a nice feed from Coleton Heipel and Brendan Morano. The Storm pulled their goalie Jacob Ackert trying to get the equalizer, but unfortunately were unable to tie the game and ended up losing 3-2.
So with the series tied at 2 games a piece, the deciding game was back in Listowel the next night. The building was electric as the Listowel fans were cheering loudly for their team, but the Storm faithful in the stands matched the home teams fans intensity. As with every other game in the series the game was close from the get go. Listowel came out flying putting the Storm on the defensive early in the match and once again Storm netminder Cameron Plante made some big saves to keep the game scoreless. Neither team found the back on the net in the first frame. Listowel opened the scoring with 4:04 gone in the second period. The Storm replied at 6:40 of the second period tying the game at 1 when Dylan Pomroy feathered the puck out from behind the net to Malcolm McIntosh in the slot who then buried the puck top shelf. Duncan Wilkinson also earned an assist on the goal. With 5:10 left in the second period the Storm was given a checking from behind penalty resulting in a defenseman being ejected from the game and giving the Cyclones a 2 minute power play. The Storm’s penalty kill was put to the test at a critical point in the game. The Storm killed off the penalty keeping the game tied at 1. Coach Craig Akerman dropped Brennan Harvie back on defense for the remainder of the game to compensate for the ejected player, which resulted in the team playing with one less forward for the remainder of the game. The second period ended 1-1. Moving into the 3rd period both teams came out a little tentative not wanting to give up the go ahead goal. Listowel had a couple good chances that Cameron Plante turned away. As time ticked down it again looked like OT was imminent. With less than a minute remaining in the 3rd with Listowel looking for a change they fired the puck deep into the Storm’s end. The puck took a weird bounce and ended up in the net. With the hockey gods on the Storm’s side the referee waved off the goal as Listowel had a couple players off-side when the puck crossed the goal line. With that bullet narrowly averted the buzzer sounded with the game knotted at 1 at the end of regulation time. The teams were headed for sudden victory/death overtime for the first time in the series. Both teams came out cautiously in OT not wanting to give up the goal that ultimately would determine the 2011 WOAA Champion; the stakes were high. With 6 minutes and 5 seconds gone in the OT frame, Troy Courneyea got a break away after a fortuitous bounce over a Cyclones defenseman’s stick and buried the puck giving the Pee Wee AE Saugeen Shores Storm the 2011 WOAA Championship. The team was presented the trophy and celebrated in the dressing room. Upon arriving back home the celebration continued Allan’s Fireside grill.
The boys now move on to the OMHA Playdowns facing Collingwood starting Sat Feb 12.
Congratulations to all the players and coaches. Well done and your fans are very proud of you.
Go Storm Go!!