Jan 12, 2015 | Mike Pullen | 1395 views
Strength & Honor: Sailors Bring Home Another Championship Trophy!
Bradford
Blue and Gold Classic Tournament - January 9-11, 2015. The Sailors headed off on Friday, January
9th to their second tournament of the year - the Bradford Blue and Gold
Classic. With winter and Toronto driving
conditions on Friday evening, the boys and their parents made a mad dash to get
to the first game of the tournament against the East Gwillimbury Eagles 1
Team.
Goderich was clearly the superior team, but the pre-game rush and long road trip saw the boys come out a little flat in what turned into a very tense match. Despite the 10-1 shots on net ratio and multiple scoring chances for the Sailors, the puck just didn’t seem to want to go in the net. The Eagles had a few close chances of their own, but were shutdown by the strong goaltending efforts of Michael. Finally, after two scoreless periods, Justin made a cross-crease set-up to Ryan who potted the first and only goal of the game with just 6:36 left on the clock. Star of the game went to Ryan.
Despite the partying and late night for the boys at the hotel, the second game of the tournament on Saturday morning had the boys bounce back and ‘play their game’ to land them a decisive 10-0 victory over the New Hamburg Huskies. Goals of the high scoring game went to: Alex (5); Ryan (2); James (1); Lucas (1); Snowden (1). Assists of the game went to: James (1); Justin (2); Josh B. (1); Noah (2); Ryan (1); Logan (1); and Nathan (1). Stars of the game were Alex, James and Nyden - for his great goaltending (including a breakaway save!)
The points of the tournament would ultimately see the Sailors tied with the other East Gwillimbury Eagles 2 Team, which meant they were scheduled to play each other twice on Sunday – including the Tournament Championship Game! The Eagles 2 Team was a formidable opponent with a goaltender that seemly had ‘sold his soul to the devil’ based on how many shots he stopped! Both games were close ‘gut churning’ battles (physically for the boys that came down with the flu) and emotionally for their fans! In the small and frigid conditions of the old Beeton arena the boys began their first game at 11:30 AM with solid determination. The game was a back and forth skirmish with Goderich drawing first blood at the 5:47 mark of the first period with a nice goal by Ryan off an assist from Alex. The Eagles tied the game 1-1 soon into the second period, but that goal was soon answered by Ryan off an assist from Snowden and Logan. Gwillimbury bounced back and landed 2 quick goals to pull ahead 3-2 - but a blistering shot from the point by Braeden ended the period 3-3. Noah got the team out ahead again 4-3 on a quick puck steal and weave around the Eagles defense to 5-hole it past the goalie. Nevertheless, Gwillimbury managed to tie the game once again. The intensity of the last 8 minutes of the game was the only thing keeping the half-frozen Goderich fans from keeling over, and the game ultimately ended in a 4-4 tie! Stars of the game were Logan, Braeden and Michael.
Soon after the suspense of the 4-4 game, the Championship Game started at 1:30 PM with excitement and anticipation at an all time high for players, coaches and their fans! The state of the art Bradford arena was more suitable for a championship game and both teams were hungry for the win. The Gwillimbury goalie was once again their best weapon against the many scoring chances of the Sailors and the Eagles managed to land 2 goals in the last 5 minutes of the first period. Going into the second period the boys showed their strength and resolve and James closed the goal difference to 2-1 on a power play with a sniper top shelf shot (assist by Noah and Braeden). With a little over a minute to go in the period, Justin landed the ‘TSN turning point’ goal off a text book perfect set-up from Ryan in front of the Gwillimbury net. The third period remained a close battle with great saves by Nyden and strong defensive from the Sailors to hold things 2-2. With 1:33 left in the game, Josh B. got the puck to Ryan who once again made the magic pass in front of the net to Justin to make it a 3-2 game. With less then a minute in the game, Alex (despite suffering from the flu), closed the deal for Goderich after taking advantage of a nice set-up from Noah and Logan with a nice deke on the Gwillimbury goalie to end the game 4-2. The team (and proud Goderich fans) went WILD!! Game MVP went to a deserving Alex.
Medal presentations at the end of the game had both teams shaking hands and congratulating each other - and the boys made their coaches and parents proud with their outstanding teamwork, sportsmanship and representation of their community. Both opposing team parents and tournament referees even commented on the quality of their play and sportsmanship throughout the tournament.
To quote one dedicated Goderich fan and grandparent: “This team, this tournament - and this championship game will be forever etched in the memory of the boys.” Way to go Sailors – be proud!