After suffering three tough losses in a row in regular season play, the Goderich Novice Rep Sailors headed into the Seaforth Novice Rep Tournament with a clean slate and fresh attitude. The first game of the tournament for the Sailors was held on Friday, November 23rd against the Stratford Warriors. The Sailors dominated play and saw nice goals coming from Owen S, and Ayden H assisted by Owen S. Goalie Ben G was solid in net and had good help from the defensemen in front of him to see the game end 2- 1 for the Sailors! A great start to our first tournament of the year!
On Saturday, November 24th, the Sailors returned to the Seaforth Arena, with the Mitchell Meteors their first task at hand. The Sailors dominated play and goalie Ben G had a stellar game in net with lots of help from his defensemen to shut out the Meteors, final score 3-0 for the Sailors! Goderich goals came by way of a pair from top scorer Owen S , and defenseman Eric V also adding one to the tally. Nice work Team!
The Sailors then moved on to face a familiar opponent in the Seaforth Stars. First blood was drawn by the Stars, and the score remained 1-0 in their favour until the third period when they scored again to take a 2-0 lead over the Sailors. The Sailors would not give up though, and with 5 minutes remaining, centreman Owen S, assisted by defenseman Evan M, put the Sailors on the board! The Sailors then tied the game with another goal courtesy of Owen S, this time assisted by Ayden H. Both teams continued to battle hard to see the 3rd period end still tied 2-2. On to a shootout! The first Seaforth shooter was denied by a great save from Ben G. Up first for Goderich was Jordan H , who took the front of the line for Goderich (after having scored on 4 of 4 shots earlier in the day in the Shootout Competition), but he was not able to beat the Seaforth goalie. The next Seaforth shooter was also shut down by Ben G. Up next to shoot for Goderich was Owen S, who would not be denied with his signature wrist shot. The pressure was now on Ben G to pull out the victory for Goderich, and he did not disappoint with a great save to win the game! The Sailors had battled back to earn their way into the final Championship game! GREAT perseverance boys!
The Championship Final saw a very excited Sailors team hit the arena chanting “GO SAILORS GO!``, a chant which was quickly echoed by the team’s parents, family and friends who were almost as excited as the players themselves!
The opponent for the championship game was the Stratford Warriors. The Sailors hit the ice with good energy and played well in the first period which ended tied at 2-2. Both first period goals were scored by Owen S, one of which was assisted by Ayden H. As the game went on the Sailors grew much more confident in their game, and took the lead and control of the game in the second period, with Ayden H scoring a great goal assisted by Owen S. The Sailors defensemen continued to play solidly to shut down any scoring chances for Stratford, and the offense brought forth some nice passing and scoring chances. In the third period, the Sailors continued to dominate, with Owen S scoring the final goal of the game, assisted by winger Kaleb C, to seal the victory. The players and their fans were ecstatic as the final buzzer sounded, and mobbed goalie Ben G in celebration! The Goderich Novice Rep Sailors had gone UNDEFEATED to win the Seaforth Stars Novice Rep Tournament Championship!!!
This tournament is a great example of what a team can do when they put their mind on the task and their feet in gear on the ice, and all coaches were extremely impressed and proud of the huge effort put out by all members of the team to make this victory possible. Let’s move on and build on this winning attitude and effort! CONGRATULATIONS BOYS, you are CHAMPS!!! GO SAILORS GO!!!