Jan 13, 2015 | Maria Sandke | 1844 views
Oak Ridges Tournament Champions!!
The Oro Thunder Novice 2 Team entered the Richmond Hill Tournament hoping to continue their two game winning streak. Building on a positive tournament experience from Lindsay earlier this season, the Thunder came to Richmond Hill with the intention to capture the Tournament Title and bring it back to the new “Thunder Dome”. The Thunder’s first draw of the tournament was against the home town Richmond Kings. With sickness at the forefront of Coach Rob’s thoughts, the team did not disappoint.
The Thunder began an assault of the offensive zone opening a 3 goal lead early in the game. As the Kings attempted to crawl back into the game, they were met with a further offensive display of passing and team work that would culminate in a further 2 goals. Break downs in the defensive ranks of the Kings, lead to end to end rushes by defensive phenomes Connor DYBALL and Luca PARON. Consistent, Owen SANDKE would drop in two goals on the game followed by a single goal notched by Adison LANDON. The lone assist for the game would be delivered by the only young lady Thunder, Montana KENNY. The Thunder would roll to an opening tournament win of 5-3 and set their sights on game two.
The Thunder attended the local Mandarin to re-fuel for game two and then spent time in the pool in preparation for game two of the tournament.
The evening game was the early game of the night session and the Thunder left the fans with wanting more. The Thunder played for a packed parent stadium of cheers and Thunderous rolls of their own. Game two would pit the Thunder against the relatively unknown Woolwich team from western Ontario. The Thunder would display bolts of lightning from the minute the puck was dropped and when the Thunder and lightning ended, ten team members would crack the score sheet on this night. A complete team effort would be highlighted by offensive displays of passing and unselfishness. The staunch defensive prowess of Kieran LUOMA, Gavin BROWN, Connor DYBALL and Luca PARON would not be surpassed and would protect their goalie at all costs. Dylan FLUNEY would continue this defensive display by throwing his body in front of shot after shot. With the defense well in hand, the offense Thundered on like never before. Owen SANDKE would lead the way with five goals and three assists, the never stop; Brayden KELLY would drop in four goals and add another two helpers for a total of six points on the night. Noah MITCHELL anchoring the wing would deliver two goals into the net, unbeknownst to the Woolwich goaltender. Defensive rushes at opportune times again by Luca PARON and Connor DYBALL would add a further two goals to the mounting total. When Dylan FLUNEY wasn’t throwing his body on the ground in attempts to block shots from the blue line he added three helpers to the Thunder cause, followed by Adison LANDON with two. Relentless in front of the net, Aidan MIESCHKE provided two helpers on the evening and defenseman Gavin BROWN would add the final helper on the night ending the Thunderous onslaught. The Thunder would again be victorious with a score of 13-0.
An early start to Sunday schedule the Thunder met for the first time, Lambton Shores. As a virtual unknown the game began with a fierce defensive battle that lasted the better part of two periods. The Thunder were able to open an early lead but the Lambton Shores team would be a formidable opponent early on in the game. By the end of the second period, after tough defense, relentless dumping and chasing of the puck, the efforts began to pay off and they paid off big. Brayden KELLY would again prove that he will not stop until the puck is in the net, a total of four times this game. Single goals again by wingers Noah MITCHELL and Adison LANDON and center man Owen SANDKE would bring the overall total to seven for the Thunder. Gavin BROWN from his defensive point position would be good for two assists on the night. When Owen, Noah and Adison weren’t scoring they were assisting others on the night with one assist each. Fellow winger, Drake MOORE would remain tough in the corners and on the boards to add a final assist for the game. This would lead the Thunder to a 7-0 win over the Lambton Shores team and set up a return match in the final with the host, Richmond Hill Kings.
Wanting the crown to be returned to their home, Richmond Hill Kings came out of the gates flying in the championship game; however, the Thunder were calm and focused. The defense would continue to smother all attempts by the Kings in the offensive zone. The defensive mastery of Kieran, Luca, Gavin and Connor getting pucks out of the defensive zone and onto fellow Thunder sticks would prove to be too much for the Kings. This defensive core showed hustle, skills and grit at every turn this weekend. The game would remain close until the final buzzer, with goals scored by Brayden on two occasions and one by Dylan. This would prove too much for the Kings and the Thunder took the second straight match from the Kings with a 3-1 win!!!
Beginning the weekend with a sickness, GOALIE GAVIN DYBALL was nothing but phenomenal from start to finish. Gavin would show no lasting effects from the cold that had taken him over only 24hrs before. On the rare opportunities when opponents were able to get close enough to get a shot on goal, Gavin would deny attempt after attempt. Smothering shots when needed and making smart decisions to dump to the corners kept the Thunder defense rolling.
Lastly, Coach Rob, Adam, Mike KELLY and Mike KENNY spent countless hours rolling lines, administering first aid when required and even going above and beyond, providing “piggy back rides” to those in need of an immediate bathroom break. The quick decisions needed to change personnel from offense to defense on the fly was nothing short of coaching brilliance. With only 3 regular season games remaining in league play, the playoff run should be exciting from start to finish.
......submitted by Todd Landon (team webmaster)