Nov 29, 2015 | Dave Duncan | 900 views
Silver Stick Results
The weekend of November 27-29, saw the Midget AE Sailors travel to Exeter to participate in the Silver Stick Regionals, and come home with tournament silver.
On Friday morning they faced the Ilderton Jets in the opening game. The Sailors came out firing, scoring once in the first, and twice (19 secoonds apart) in the second, in a 4-0 win. Ryan, Alex, Daniel and Colton were the goal scorers, while assists went to Braeden (x2), Troy and Noah N. Kyle had the shutout in the victory, with great help from a solid defence of Brian, Cole, Kody and Troy.
Friday afternoon the Sailors faced the Strathroy Rockets. The fast and brash Rockets scored early, and the Sailors couldn't recover from spending 60% of the period short-handed. The guys mustered a late goal, but fell 4-1.
Saturday morning they were in Huron Park, for the third game of the round-robin portion, this time against Mt Bridges. The Sailors knew they had their own fate in their hands, a win or tie meant first in their pool and a spot in the semi-finals, a loss and they would have to wait for the results of two other games. 9 seconds into the game, Andy beat the Cougars goalie, and the Sailors looked to be on their way. Four straight Mt Bridges goals, including two on the power play, sealed things for the Sailors. The guys managed a late power play marker themselves, but fell 4-2. Goal scorers were Andy and Ryan, with assists to Ryan, Braeden and Brian.
The early win over Ilderton, and Petrolia's tie against Ilderton allowed the Sailors a chance to advance. They would face Strathroy, the top team in pool B, on Sunday afternoon. The Sailors came out hungry, and decided a fast-paced disciplined game would suit them better. Braeden opened the scoring for the Sailors in the first, and scored his second in the middle frame, for a 2-0 Goderich lead. Ryan scored an empty-netter to complete a 3-0 win advancing the Sailors to the finals later that day. Assists went to Andy, Darren and Noah N.
The Sailors would get a rematch with the Mount Bridges Cougars in Sunday's final. A slow start for the Sailors led to a 3-0 Cougars lead, but the Sailors wouldn't quit. Alex got things started with a shot from the point, assisted by Braeden. Braeden brought them back within a goal, on a back-hander, assisted by Noah N and Colton. Mt Bridges responded to regain a 4-2 lead late. With the Sailor net empty, and an extra attacker on, Ryan swatted home a rebound, assisted by Braeden and Andy. The Sailors kept pressing, but couldn't tie it up, eventually losing 4-3. The Sailors bring home silver and another Silver Stick banner.