Nov 26, 2012 | Kory Green | 1248 views
Minor Peewee Huskies Bradford Tournament Champs
“Together Everyone Achieves More”. That’s what TEAM represents and that’s the new slogan and cheer the New Hamburg Re/Max Twin City Minor Peewee A Huskies adopted after round robin play and before hitting the ice for their tilt with the Ajax Knights in the finals of the Bradford Bulldogs Blue & Gold Classic hockey tournament on Sun Nov 25th.
Captain Aedan Bell reiterated, “We have a new cheer.” He and the rest of his team mates bought in and the result was exactly what the doctor ordered as the Huskies were able to grind out a 1-0 victory to become tournament champions.
The Huskies began round robin play on Fri Nov 23rd against these same Ajax Knights cruising to a 4-0 win. The dogs pounced early keeping the Knights off their game when Griffin Hergott scored in the first assisted by Brett Gruber. Bell extended the lead late in the period with Koby Seiling and Cotter Hegan earning the helpers. In the second it was more Huskies as Luke Egers was rewarded when CJ Egli feathered a pass in the slot that Egers buried. Egli scored with ten seconds left in the second completing the scoring as Seiling assisted.
In game 2, versus Cooksville, it was much of the same as game one as the Huskies took control early. Hergott set up Jacob Ertel feeding him in the slot for the opening goal. Then Jake Schweitzer made it 2-0 before time ran out in the first assisted by Hegan. Cooksville cut the lead to 2-1 midway through the second but the Huskies regained their two goal lead before the period ended. Bell won the faceoff back to the point and Bradley Vitello moved into the slot for a shot. It was stopped, but Hegan was on the doorstep to bang in the rebound. New Hamburg would eventually win the game 4-1 as Ryan Vaudry attempted to score with a point shot but got tipped by Hergott in the third.
Next up were the Raiders from Nepean. The Huskies looked somewhat disinterested when individual and selfish play crept into their game. Somehow they still managed to squeak out a 2-1 win. “(It’s) not the effort we’re looking for,” a disappointed head coach Kory Green stated after the game. “Guys were not sticking to the system. Selfish penalties (and) penalties away from the play,” he added. There was one highlight in the game though. Hegan, who was a Pierre Maguire monster throughout the tournament, picked up a pass as he stepped onto the ice on a line change and went in alone to score a beauty on a breakaway. Seiling shot towards the net on the other Huskie goal. Egli got a stick on it but eventually Ertel put the puck in on a sloppy play in front.
A better effort followed when the dogs met the hometown Bradford Bulldogs in game 4. Egli opened the scoring with 32 seconds remaining in the first period assisted by Ertel. After the Bulldogs tied the score in the second it was all Huskies in the third frame as the dogs from New Hamburg connected with three unanswered goals to round out the scoring in a 4-1 win. Scoring goals for New Hamburg were Ertel, Kyle Goodhew and Bell. Seiling and Egli were credited with assists.
In the finals, the opening goal of the game apparently came at 9:11 of the second but was called back due to a high stick making contact on a point shot from Goodhew. That would have been true if the players were all three feet tall, but the Huskies would not be denied. At 4:30 Ertel, who was playing the point on the power play, moved to the right drawing players with him including the Ajax goalie, then shot left and found an opening to score the eventual game winner. Cam Lowry just missed on a great centering effort by Egli late in the second but failed to connect. Huskie goalie Mavrick Habel preserved the shut out win at 3:24 of the third making an enormous pad save.
Head coach Green was pleased with his team’s resilience and rebound play. “Fifteen goals for and three goals against,” he said. “We’re trying to be more offensive.” He wasn’t pleased with the officials. “Officiating was suspect all weekend,” he indicated.
Due to illnesses, injuries and suspensions, centre man Aedan Bell was asked to play a variety of forward positions. “I used to play wing,” he said. He also had a satisfying feeling for his team by winning the tournament, “feels really good to win the tournament,” Bell added.
The team had a unique method of accepting their championship hardware. They didn’t go up one by one or just the captains. Green said, “there are no individuals (on this team).” Together they received their gold medals! Together they accepted their championship trophy! Together they are champions!