Saugeen Shores Storm Unifor Atom B’s are Wingham Regional
Silver Stick Champs!
It appears the word has gotten out about Wingham’s Regional
Silver Stick tournament as this year’s edition saw a large group of teams
registered. A total of 12 teams
participated in the Atom B division alone which provided a look at some new
opposition as well as battling with some familiar competitors.
Our opening game was against Shelburne where the boys came out flying racking up a 4-0 lead to end the first period. Shelburne pushed back in the third but the Storm was able to come out with a 5-2 win.
Game 2 saw us matched up against a hard working Tavistock team. The boys found themselves down 1-0 only a few minutes into the game. The early deficit didn’t last long and the Storm pulled ahead 2-1 by the end of the first period. A good back and forth provided a scoreless second period. Picking up momentum throughout the game, the levee finally broke in the third with the boys netting 4 more goals to finish with a 6-1 win.
Game 3 was against Walkerton. Another quick start with a goal in the first couple of minutes of play and the Storm team didn’t look back. Some good puck movement and pressure allowed the boys to come away with a 5-2 win.
The Storm Unifor Atom B’s finished the round robin in top spot of Pool C. Their semi-final match-up was against Mitchell who finished first in Pool B. The boys once again found themselves in a 1-0 hole in the first few minutes of play. Like a reliable locomotive our team kept picking up speed as the game progressed. Some great heads up play and puck movement allowed the Storm to come away with a 5-1 win.
The championship game found two forces colliding for the 5th time this season. The Storm vs. the Listowel Cyclones. Every player was focused on the task that lay ahead. With all hands on deck the boys played from opening puck drop to final buzzer with relentless puck pursuit and puck movement. The boys controlled much of the play throughout the game and held onto a 2-0 lead until the last few minutes of play when Listowel pulled within one goal. This was as close as they would come as the boys would not be denied reward for the hard work that has been put into the season so far. The final score was 2-1 for the Storm.
This was a great team tournament victory. The last Saugeen Shores Atom B team to win the Regional Silver Stick was back in 2001. A big congratulations to E. Akerman, J. Boone, M. Bourassa, R. Foster, B. Hall, S. Hall, A. Jacklin, C. Jackson, Z. Lawrence, M. Lettau, C. Marshall, S. Porter, D. Thomson, T. Nakai and H. VanGeel on becoming Regional Silver Stick Champions and good luck at the International Silver Stick in Forest!