Dec 02, 2014 | Sheri Peet | 350 views
Silver Stick Tournament
The Atom AE team took the weekend off from regular season play to participate in the South Huron Silver Stick tournament. The team are primarily first year players with only three second year players on the 13 person roster. As a result, most had not played in a Silver Stick tournament.
Friday afternoon’s games were against the Lambeth Lancers AE team. The Lancers had a regular season record of 5-1-2 before the tournament. Thirteen of the sixteen players on the Lancers’ roster are in their second year of Atom. The Sailors came out strong in the first period, but quickly found themselves down 5-0 at the end of the first period. Two of the Lancers first period goals were scored on the power play in what would be a penalty-filled contest with each team receiving four penalties.
The Sailors managed to keep the Lancers scoreless in the second period while killing off their third penalty of the game. The Sailors also scored to cut the lead to 5-1 before the end of the period. The Lancers came out strong in the third period scoring 6 more goals for an 11-1 final. The Lancers were penalized three times in the final period ending the game with an abbreviated 5-3 power play for the Sailors. Caden received player of the game honors for the Sailors for his strong defensive play including two blocked shots.
Friday evening’s game was against the South Huron Sabres. The Sabres had a regular season record of 4-5-2. South Huron’s roster features four first year players on their 13 person roster. The Sailors played a solid first period against the Sabres, but gave up an early goal to trail 1-0 until midway through the period. Justin scored just after the halfway mark of the period to tie the game at 1-1. The goal was assisted by Spencer and Wesley. Late in the period the Sailors had a power play opportunity but could not put the puck past the Sabres net- minder.
The team again played a strong second period with several chances to score and managed to keep the opposition off the score sheet. They killed off a penalty early in the second period before the Sabres got the go-ahead goal midway through the period. The Sailors pressed hard for the tying goal with several good rushes. A late penalty prevented the Sailors from getting the extra attacker on the ice with the goalie out of the net and lead to a power play goal for South Huron in a 3-1 win. The player of the game was awarded to Justin for his strong defensive play and scoring the game’s only goal.
Saturday afternoon’s game was against the Strathroy Jr. Rockets. The Jr. Rockets entered the tournament with a regular season record of 10-1-1. Strathroy’s team are mostly 1st year Atom (10) with five second year players. The Sailors lost 6-0, but played a good game against the eventual tournament champions and Shamrock League leading Jr. Rockets.
The Rockets scored two goals in each period. The Sailors had a strong penalty kill late in the third period to keep the score 6-0. The team played a more disciplined defense and had strong goaltending against the Rockets. The player of the game was shared by Michael and Kellen for great performances in the net.
The Hyundai Atom AE Sailors began the tournament with a 1-11 regular season record. Despite losing three games, the team had a great experience in their first tournament of the year and continues to show improvement.
Next up is another busy weekend with a pair of home games against the Wingham Ironmen and Kincardine Kinucks.
Article Credited to Jim Sherratt