The Thunder went road tripping to Niagara Falls before the New Year to spread their wings and take on some big hockey centers in The Al Boone Memorial Tournament
The team took up temporary residence at The Americana Hotel and Waterpark for the weekend and had a blast.
Always risky spending time in pools,let alone waterparks and while this likely had an effect on the team's energy through the tourney,our number one goal this time out was to have holiday fun and we trust everyone did just that
(I know coach and adults did...more strikes than a ballteam!)
Game 1
First up was a team from Waterford with an excellent record
Our boys came hungry and wasted no time getting to work
Captain Harry got us on the board early from Owen followed quickly from Ben then Doogie from Chaser for the early 3-0 lead after one period. Little did we now this was to be a breakout tourney for Birthday Boy Ben
Waterford likely didn't know what hit them this game as the whole team was firing on all cylinders
Magoo was rushing the puck very well and had a pair of sweet goals. Harry too picked up a pair and their defense partners Hayden and Colt respectively held the fort responsibly during their forays deep into enemy territory with wingers and sometimes centers falling back. Great heads up awareness.
Connor and Eric S continued their excellent puck movement inside the O blueline and often chose to make the smart,simple play when pressured
Chaser finished the scoring from Hayden and Doogie ,the latter finishing up with an exceptional 5 point game
Great start and on to game two that evening
Final;
Oro 7 - Waterford 0
Game 2.. "Win it for Eddie"
Edward had hurt himself back at the hotel in an unfortunate fall,and was unable to continue in the tourney sadly
Bad luck and we all felt bad for Eddie and his family
So we rallied around our fallen comrade for the Thornton Tiger game....this a solid team that we had watched give Oakville a tough match
Oro was challenged greatly in this game and it was a close contest despite the final score.
Aidan got us on the board late first on a breakaway with a head man pass from Ty and Connor.
He used the deke we had discussed in practice to surprise the Thornton netminder..way to go Roadrunner!
Thornton almost immediately responded and it was 1-1 after 1
Second period saw see saw action with both tenders coming up large...we out chanced Thornton but couldn't find twine
Justin made several big saves to keep the score knotted as Thornton counterpunched each attack with big rushes
Finally with 0.01 on the clock,Chaser found himself alone and made a gorgeous double deke sliding the puck backhand five hole with calm smoothness.
2-1 after 2 in a close match
Cue Big Ben
Ben has been adjusting to his new position all season,learning the positional requirements and the little tricks to move/pass the puck that are foreign to most defensemen
The one thing Ben never needed to learn was compete on the puck..he is battler through and through be it on the boards or in the crease
His nose for the net has been growing and this tournament was a coming out party for our strong man
Early third Ben ruled the crease,crashing it with great enthusiasm
A ripper rebound from Hayden's point shot gave us a 3-1 advantage.
Next shift Ben again drove the net and found an opportunistic turnover for another in close banger
Ben's critical back to backs put the game in hand and opened the floodgates
Aidan got the next pair,the first on another breakaway after Ty hit him on the fly sealing a beauty hat trick.
Doogie from Colt near the buzzer and the 7-2 final flattered us..it was a tough match that although we outchanced the Tigers,Justin's superb play kept us in the match when it really mattered.
Other highlights form this match included a fabulous backcheck from Owen on a 3-1 where he caught the lead puckcarrier and dove to eliminate the chance when the game was still close.
Jacob and Aidan dazzled the crowd on a 2-0 with so many back and forth passes we lost count
The goalie's head was spinning and although it didn't find net,what a display of selfless passing
Next time we bury that one
Excellent effort all around and we cheered Eddie post game; dedicating the win to our big winger
Final
Oro 7 - Thornton 2
Game 3
After a late night of fun,excellent food and Birthday cake Oro took on Ayr in the final game of our Pool's Round Robin
The Ayr Flames needed a victory for any chance to move on,and although we didn't tell the team,Oro's earlier big victories had cemented our advancement.
This game was again competitive as Ayr came ready and we were showing heavy legs
Ayr got on the board first with a seeing eye shot that snuck post in.
We outchanced the Flames heavily in this match,but our hard shooting squad were not bearing down on chances and shooting weaker than normal wristers into Ayr tenders chest making it easy.
Second period we started to get more engaged down 1-0,but again the Ayr tender left us stymied.
Harry was robbed on a hard,labelled shot that was picked with glove and Doogie a point blank chance that somehow the tender reached low and snagged
Told the team to stay away from catching side..this kid was a golden glover
Frustration was setting in late second and Ayr was buoyed.
Justin started to see more rubber in close and was rock solid in keeping pucks in front of him and freezing scrambles. Ayr crashed the net hard and played a chippy game..but our tender and D held firm.
Owen was feeling ill most of tourney and then found himself banged up as well.
No matter,our pivot dug deep late second on a spectacular one man effort.
On a line change, The Mighty O found himself alone and weaved through three Ayr players then juked forehand/backhand to finally beat the goalie backhand over blocker
Fabulous goal O and we went into the third knotted at 1's
Third period saw much the same ..back and forth action,huge saves from Justin and Ayr and Oro's edge in play slightly diminished
Ayr pressed the action late third,desperate to get the winning goal
Our D was at their best,matching Ayr's physical play and making smart plays.
Colt and Connor were competing expecially hard by clearing the crease scrambles/winning races to the corners to move the puck up the wing.
Final minute saw Ayr pull the tender and try as they may,could not beat Justin who stared each chance down
Aidan almost hit the open cage in the final seconds but the 1-1 tie was a fair result
Post game Ayr's coach said that was the best game his team had played all season..they gave everything they had and just came up short.
Our team was battered, weary and yet still outplayed the Flames who were a desperate squad.
The increasingly tired bodies,however, left us a little unnerved knowing some top notch teams awaited the draw into the Quarters
Still,heady wins against big center teams was an accomplishment to be proud of..and Oro was full deserves for the title advancement winning our pool with a 2-0-1 record
Final
Oro 1 - Ayr 1
Next up the Quarters.....