Bantam Rep Coyotes are Silver Stick Champions!!!!, News, Bantam Rep, U15, 2012-2013 (Elmvale Minor Hockey)

Our first test was an early 8 am game that saw us come face to face with a familiar foe in our league rivals, the Penetang Flames.  Anytime these 2 teams come up against each other, sparks fly and you can be sure that you are in for some good back and forth hockey. This game proved to be no different as the 2 teams seemed to go shot for shot and goal for goal. The end result was a 5-5 tie, giving Elmvale there first point of the tournament.  A strong showing and a hard fought battle was a positive way to start the tournament.

Later that afternoon, Elmvale was back on the ice, this time against another team named the Flames... but this time hailing from Ayr.  The Coyotes came out strong right out of the gate, and didn’t take their foot off the gas pedal skating to a 9-1 victory. With a lopsided win and a hard fought tie under our belt, our ticket to the semi-finals was officially punched; however we did have to play one more round robin game against the powerhouse Parry Sound Shamrocks. This game would only determine rankings and opponents for the next day’s semi-finals as the 4 teams moving on were all but confirmed.

An afternoon start, in our home rink, we were well aware we had a tough test in front of us. The boys came out fired up and opened up a 1-0 lead on a goal by Troy Bellisle. Parry Sound would tie the game with a marker of their own before the 1^st period was over. Elmvale continued to battle hard and never gave up, sticking with the talented Parry Sound team for much of the game. But the speed, talent, and confidence of the opposing team, coupled with a few tough penalty calls, would eventually prove too tough for the Coyotes to handle and we suffered our 1st loss in the past 6 games.  Jason Flury would add another goal for Elmvale late, but the final score was 5-2 for the opposing Shamrocks. As the final buzzer sounded, Coach Graham Schepers showed an eerie ability to predict the future stating “you have to win the 5^th game of the tournament, not the 3^rd!”  

The 1^st of the semi-final matches saw Elmvale once again clash with rival Penetang in another early morning battle! The rivalry between these two teams seems to be growing more and more intense as it was obvious from the puck drop that both teams were prepared for war! An extremely hard hitting, fast paced 1^st period ended in a 0-0 tie. Once again getting into some penalty trouble early in the 2^nd period, goaltender Kaiden Maw stood tall and turned away a barrage of Penetang shots and scoring attempts to keep the score tied at 0’s. Eventually the hard work of the Elmvale team would be rewarded as the Coyotes opened the scoring on a beautiful shot by Nevin King just under the cross bar for the goal. Some great defense allowed us to keep the 1-0 lead going into the 3^rd period.

Already down defensemen Tye King (injury reserve), and Jake Lalonde (on a beach in Jamaica), defenseman Mackie Larmer was injured on an unfortunate ride into the boards midway through the 2nd and would miss the remainder of the tournament.  The 3^rd period was another fast paced battle that saw both teams trade scoring chances. Penetang would eventually tie the game with under 2 minutes left, setting the stage for a thriller! Not even a minute later, the resiliency of the Coyote team paid off and Elmvale would not be denied as Zach Mclean took the puck from the corner and slid a perfectly placed backhand past the sliding net minder for a 2-1 lead with less than a minute left! Colby Jonkman would add an empty net goal and the Coyotes had advanced to the tournament finals with a 3-1 victory!

The Championship game would be a rematch against a Parry Sound team that had dominated the tournament thus far (4-0, 30 GF, 4 GA). Unbeaten in the regular season, and unbeaten in the tournament, it was no secret that we were the underdog heading into the game.  Before the game in the lobby, we were forced to listen as Parry Sound players and parents conversed about making hotel reservations for the International tournament, and asked amongst themselves to predict who would be the 1^st player to score a hat trick against us. Something the Coyote players didn’t take too kindly to, and used as fuel for the fire I’m sure.

The game started with Parry Sound gaining a breakaway off of the opening faceoff, but Kaiden Maw shut the door the 1^st of many times in the game. Elmvale then capitalized on an early powerplay as Ian Miller’s shot from the point was redirected by Evan Marlowe into the net. 1-0 Coyotes. Less than 2 minutes later, Zach Mclean knocked one in the net in a battle in front. 2-0 Coyotes. The score would stay that way through the 1^st period. Looking down the bench, it was clear that having 3 defensemen (2 of them originally forwards) would be too tough for a fast paced game like this one. So we moved Owen King back to play D. This gave us 4 defensemen, only 1 of whom was originally picked as a defenseman for the team.  Parry Sound would eventually get on the board in the 2^nd and cut the lead to 2-1. But when a scramble in front of the net would result in an Elmvale penalty shot, the 2 goal lead was restored as Thomas Maw made a beautiful move and slid the puck in the net to make the score 3-1. Before the period ended, Andrew Priest would add another for Elmvale on a rocket wrist shot from the point. The score was now 4-1 heading into the 3^rd, something no one would have predicted. Parry Sound scored early in the 3^rd to cut the lead to 2 again, but once again Thomas Maw answered scoring on a one time pass from Zach Maclean to make the score now 5-2 for Elmvale.

The teams shared scoring chances, hits, and penalties for the remainder of the game.  Although Parry Sound added one more goal late, the goaltending of Kaiden Maw accompanied with the work ethic and strong defensive play of his Coyotes in front of him proved to be too much for the shocked Shamrock team, and the final score was 5-3 for the Elmvale Coyotes! 

That is the story of how a scrappy, tired, injury ridden, short benched, and underdog Bantam Rep team, fought and battled their way to become Regional Silver Stick Champions!!!!  We will now move on to the International tournament on the 25^th of January in Forest, ON. Against teams from across Canada and the United States.  Congratulations boys!!!  Myself, the rest of the coaching staff, and the fans couldn’t be more proud of ya!!! Congratulations to Kaiden Maw on getting tournament MVP honours for the Championship team!

The Coyotes continued their winning ways the next night, beating the Wasaga Stars 7-1 in a regular season matchup. Our final regular season game is next Sunday, January 6^th at 6:55 in Elmvale against the Stayner Cyclones. Come out and support your local Champions!!