On the weekend of Nov.16/17th the Hapamp Bantam
Rep Team took part in the annual Elmvale Minor Hockey Brian English Memorial
Bantam/Midget Tournament. As one of the host teams
from Elmvale the Coyotes enjoyed playing in front of a large hometown crowd in
each of their games.
An early Friday afternoon game had the Coyotes facing off
against the Flesherton Golden Hawks. The Coyotes
played a strong team game and with a committed backchecking effort did not allow the Golden Hawks a shot on goal in the first period.
The rest of the game continued to favor the Elmvale team and they
would take the game by a final score of 2-0.
Later in the evening the Hapamp Bantam Rep Team’s opponent would be the Lambeth Lancers . The Bantam Rep Coyotes continued their strong play from earlier in the day and once again played the majority of the game in the Lancers zone. Solid defensive play and some timely saves would allow the the Coyotes to skate away with their second victory of the day, winning by a score of 3-0.
A Saturday night game had the Hapamp Bantam Rep team matched up against a very good Listowel Cyclone team. The Coyotes gave up their first goal of the tournament midway through the first and found themselves trailing 1-0 late in the first period of play. The Coyotes battled hard and tied the game up at 1-1 but the continued forecheck of the Cyclones would soon have the Coyotes down again. A late game push would see the Elmvale Coyotes get some scoring chances but fail to register another goal. Final score Listowel Cyclones 3 Elmvale Coyotes 1.
Sunday morning a 2-1 Elmvale Coyote Team would go against the St. Mary’s Rock team with a similar 2-1 record. The winner of this game would go to the final against the Listowel Cyclones. Just five minutes into the game the Bantam Rep Coyotes found themselves down by a score of 2-0. Facing elimination the Elmvale team did not give up and part way through the second cut the Rock lead in half, making the score 2-1. With 13 seconds left in the game the desperate Coyotes tied the game up and deciding factor of which team would move on would be left to Goals for and against. The 2 Friday shutouts were enough to put the Coyotes into the final in a rematch against the Listowel Cyclones.
The final game was an intense game with both teams getting several chances, but it would be the Elmvale team who would find the scoreboard first. The Coyote lead would be short lived as the Cyclones quickly tied it. This 1-1 score would be taken into the third period. Midway through the third an errant pass from the Cyclones would find its way into their own net giving the Coyotes a 2-1 lead. The Coyotes would protect this lead till the end giving them the game and the tournament.
Some stellar goaltending from Kaiden Maw and great defensive plays from defenseman Jake Lalonde, Tye King, Colin Kitching, Braeden Allen, Aidan McKinstry and Charlie Flieger kept the Coyotes in every game by allowing only 6 goals in 5 games. The forward group of Andrew Priest, Brock KleinGebbinck, Owen King, Troy Bellisle, Nevin King, Alex Sweeney, Jordan Agar, Matt Clarke and Derek Sweeney were exceptional in generating scoring chances and keeping the play primarily in their opponents end. The Hapamp Bantam Rep Coyotes would like to thank all the fans for their vocal support throughout the weekend.
With two tournament victories and a season record of 17-3-3 the Coyotes are working hard to achieve their ultimate goal of going far into the OMHA playdowns.