The season started early for the Peewee Rep team with an off-ice conditioning program being sent to all prospective players in early August. Coach Mike Kelly knew conditioning would be an important part of the success of this team, and luckily all the players bought into the bi-weekly workouts. After some tough decisions at tryouts, the coaching staff had decided on defense pairings of Benjamin Kelly/Jaxson Johnston, and Jaxon Pretty/Elijah Williams. Up front would be Centremen Josh Stone and Luke Phillips, right wingers Ty Groenewoud and Michael MacNeall, Trent Peterson, Tanner Playne, and Jake Murphy playing up the left side. Tending to the net would be Brayson Fay and Gavin Sanderson.
Early on Coach Mike wanted to give back to sponsor Elmvale Home Hardware, so the team went out to sweep the parking lot before one of their practices. It was a great team building activity to bring the boys together.
The hockey season began with the players having a ton of info thrown at them. The focus was not only on developing their individual skills, but teaching them to make good hockey plays. The coaching staff had a ton of confidence in this group of young men, and with each game they continued to improve on their hockey sense. Throughout the season they learned how to cycle the puck, defensemen became more aggressive and joined the offense, and players continued to make decisions on when to hold onto the puck and when to move it.
With Coach Mike yelling words of encouragement like “Cycle the puck!”, “Make hockey plays!”, and “Be a hound dog on the puck!” the team was able to rack up the wins, finishing the season with a 33-16-5 record. Some of the season highlights include a 3-1 win over St. Mary’s (one of the top BB teams in the province), a championship at the West Grey tournament, and going undefeated at home against a strong Collingwood team. Each of the young men played a special role on the team. The offense was led many nights by snipers Ty and Tanner, a hard forecheck and backcheck was the norm for Luke, and Josh was a defensive specialist always on the right side of the puck. The hard work along the boards along with a goal scorers touch was the role of Michael and Trenton, while Jake was positionally sound and worked his butt off on the penalty kill. Defensively, Elijah and Jaxson could be counted on to clear the puck from in front of the net and move it up ice, while Benjamin and Jaxon became proficient at jumping into the rush and pinching at just the right time. Our two goaltenders each put forth excellent performances with Brayson and Gavin taking turns stepping up to win big games for the squad. We also can’t forget about our AP players who stepped up to help out the squad on numerous occasions - Jake Dutton, Lukas Knight, Aiden Lawson, Evan Mino and Garrett Fay.
A disappointing loss to Parry Sound in game 6 of the OMHA playoffs could have caused the team to “fold up shop” but the boys were able to brush off the tough loss and focus on the GB League Playoffs and Maple Syrup Tournament still to come. The final 4 days of the season proved to show the guys were saving the best for last. Much like the Elmvale Novice Rep and Atom Rep teams, the Peewees played some excellent hockey at the Maple Syrup Tournament. Defeating Port Colborne in the finals 5-0 completed the Championship sweep for the Elmvale teams. But they were not done yet! The next day the Peewees travelled to Collingwood for the final game of the Georgian Bay A Championship - a title this group had yet to grasp. With the series tied 1-1 , and having not won in Collingwood in what seemed to be 100 years the boys took full advantage of the opportunity and defeated Collingwood 3-2 in their own barn to win the A Championship - a huge accomplishment!
The Coaching staff of Head Coach Mike Kelly, Asst. Coaches Gerald Stone and Cullen Fay, Trainer Brian Murphy and Manager Melissa Peterson would like to congratulate this special group of young men, and thank them for a memorable season. Finally, a big thank you also goes out to George Begley and Elmvale Home Hardware for the ongoing sponsorship of Elmvale Minor Hockey!
