by team reporter Albert Ross
The word “Champion” is totally applicable to the Re/Max Twin City Peewee AE Husky team that returned from Collingwood this weekend. The lads were testing their skills against some extraordinary opponents in the Regional Silver Stick tournament and came out on top after 5 grueling games. The road to victory began the morning of Friday November 25th as they faced their nemesis, the Dorchester Dragons for game one of the round-robin series.
As fate would have it, the Dragons, who had been the spoiler for the Huskies in the Caledonia Cup tournament, came out strong and by the end of the second frame, had the Huskies in a 3-goal deficit. The lone point for the Dogs came halfway through the third from Dawson Hussey, who secured player-of-the-game accolades for his efforts, getting help from Ethan Field and Emmet Latyn. The 3 – 1 loss did not daunt the Pack and they came out strong against the Acton Tanners later that afternoon.
The show started well with Field snagging the first goal with Owen Ross and Alex Smirnow getting the assists followed by Hussey with Kolton Wagler getting the helpers. Nathan Gerber added his own marker in the second on an unassisted breakaway before the Tanners answered. Their rally was short-lived as Hussey scored on an unassisted short-handed rush early in the third. One more goal for the Tanners late in the frame allowed the Dogs to post a convincing 4 – 2 win with Evan Denison grabbing the player-of-the-game recognition.
The final round-robin game went Saturday morning against the Midland Centennials and it was clear the Dogs were the sharper team. The contest was scoreless until the dying moments of the second frame when Jack Normandeau found the net with Nathan Gerber and Dale Jurica riding shotgun. The Huskies blew the doors open in the third with 5 more unanswered goals. Nathan Gerber and Normandeau each scored twice securing a hat-trick for the latter while Trent Smith got off one and landed the player-of-the-game. Getting the assists were Jackson Gerber, Normandeau and Tim Geiger. Tyler Kumpf, who had been solid in net all game secured the 6 – 0 shutout by stoning a last desperate rush by the Centennials.
The points garnered through the 3 games were enough to propel the Dogs into the semi-finals that afternoon against the hometown favourites, the Collingwood Blackhawks. It was a tough, penalty-riddled contest that was scoreless after two. The opener came early in the third when Hussey’s feed to Latyn in the slot paid dividends as he blasted it into the rigging. The Blackhawks desperately tried to rally but the back-checkers, led by team captain Nathan Gerber, denied them any hope. His play throughout the match earned him the player-of-the-game. Hussey would bag a second goal getting help from Normandeau and Joel Domm. Like the previous game against Midland, the Blackhawks pulled out the stops and tried to crack net-minder Jackson Holmes who was a goalie-glove ninja in the final seconds. The score was still 2 – 0 at the buzzer which meant the Huskies were going to the finals Sunday morning to face the Dragons in what became the toughest game they’d ever played.
That all-important first goal came early for the Dogs when a turn-over behind the Dragon net was pounced on by Field and shot out front to Hussey who made no mistake. From that point on it was the tough, defensive, gritty Huskies and the well-positioned, fast and offensive Dorchester Dragons engaging in total war with both sides incurring penalties. Back-checking was key, with Wagler, Jurica, Smith, Latyn, Denison, Smirnow. Field, Normandeau and Hussey all following Nathan Gerber’s example. Defensively, the Dogs pitted the resolve of Geiger, Domm, Bailey Zehr, Jackson Gerber, and Ross (who received player-of-the-game for his outstanding efforts) against the best the Dragons could muster. Net minder Kumpf played the game of his life and when the buzzer went after the third period, the score remained 1 – 0. It was an incredible performance, one in which the Huskies dug deep and found a way to win. Congratulations to both teams for a series well-played and we wish luck to the Huskies as they advance to the International Silver Stick Championships early in the new year.