(by team reporter Albert Ross)
Even with a 5 win and 1 loss record in round-robin league play-offs, the Canadian Legion Major Peewee A Huskies were unable to best Burlington and being denied a league championship, took their game to St. Catherines for a final shot at some hardware before concluding the season. The Dogs were one of six teams competing in the Garden City Warriors Tournament held on March 15-17.
The
Pack faced off against the Welland Tigers in the first of 4 round-robin games. The
Dogs came out biting and took the Friday morning win in a 6 – 0 shutout
decision. Jack Normandeau registered a pair while teammates Sam Miller, Greg
Yeoman, Josh Blier and Tim Wenn all singled. Assisting credits went to Josh
Beach, Wyatt Rempel, Blier, Yeoman (2) and Wenn. It was a commanding
performance that the Dogs hoped to repeat that afternoon when they met the
Mooretown Storm. The Huskies caught an early break when Yeoman’s wrap-around tallied
but things soured soon after. Normandeau took a bad open-ice check that broke
his wrist, prompting an ambulance ride to the local hospital. The rattled Dogs tried
to recover but the Storm continued the hard, fast physical game. Miller was
able to up the Husky tally on a rebound from Beach but it wasn’t enough to
counter the 3 goals the Storm garnered. It was a tough 3 – 2 loss that the team
was determined to improve on when they faced the Milton Winterhawks on Saturday
morning. This opponent is a known quantity to the Huskies and they faced them
with confidence. The opener came late in the second when Jackson Gerber plugged
it in from the slot on a feed from Miller. Beach doubled it up on a power-play
early in the third getting help from Gerber and Miller. The Hawks responded on
their own power-play and were going for broke with their goalie pulled but
Blier’s empty-netter on a pass from Owen Ross sealed the 3 – 1 win. The final
round-robin game went early Sunday morning when the Dogs faced the mathematically
eliminated Quinte West Hawks. Their opposition was determined to conclude their
tournament with at least one win and the Dogs had their hands full with them.
Evan Denison registered a pair of unassisted pad-rebound points but it was not
enough to counter the Hawks 4 points and their resolute play. The 4 – 2 loss
gave the Huskies a 2 and 2 record, barely enough to secure 3rd place
and a berth in the semi-final game early that afternoon against the second
place Milton team. Net-minder Colton Holba was on his game and denied the
Winterhawks through two periods as the teams fought each other to a standstill.
It was a rough fast game and the opener didn’t come until halfway through the
third when Blier backhanded it in getting help from Evan Bender and Denison.
The Dogs did it again on the power-play minutes later with Gerber finding the
net on a pass from Miller. Blier got the finisher with Gerber and Joel Domm
assisting, concluding the 3 – 0 shutout. It was Holba’s third win of the
tournament and it propelled the Huskies into the finals against a well-rested
Mooretown Storm late that same afternoon. For net-minder Jackson Holmes, the
third time is a charm as they say, as his team took to the ice with the
rallying cry “Win it for Normy”. As expected, the opposition was fierce and the
Storm was first to score on an early power-play before the Huskies settled in
to a grinding trench warfare game. Holmes was instrumental in defying the
Storm, buying his team time to rally in the second. The tipping point came when
Bender raced in alone from the neutral zone to beat the goalie and tie the
contest. The go-ahead goal came in the dying seconds of the frame when a
centering pass from Denison was punched home by Domm. The Huskies were
relentless in the third. Defensemen Lucas Bast, Rempel, Bender and Ross were making
the Storm forwards pay a physical price as they forced the Husky defensive
zone. The hard work paid dividends in the third when Dan O’Connell secured the
insurance marker on a power-play getting help from Yeoman and Wenn. The Storm
could not answer and the Huskies carried the day with the 3 – 1 championship
win. It was an amazing finish for a gritty team that attained 4th
place in regular season, secured 2 tournament championships and accrued a very
respectable 42 wins, 20 losses and 7 ties for the year. None of this would have
been possible without the considerable coaching abilities of Jeff Gerber and
his staff: Dave Miller, Steve Domm, Brock Yantzi, Dan Gieger, and Al Denison. The
Huskies would like to thank their sponsors the Royal Canadian Legion, TLC Pet
Food, Empire Life, Electronic Design Group and the New Hamburg Veterinary
Clinic for their support. Congratulations on a season well played Huskies!