Nov 13, 2014 | Josh Parnell | 2298 views
Atom AE's Win St. Mary's Tournament
The Lions Club Atom AE's have had a successful early season. The team started off with three straight wins including an 8-0 win over Wasaga Beach in which the boys didn't allow the Stars a shot on net. The Coyotes then dropped a couple of games before getting back on the winning track.
Last weekend, the Atom AE's took their show on the road down to Western Ontario, home of the St. Mary's Rock. The tournament featured teams of all age groups and the Coyotes first game was against Niagara on the Lake. Elmvale was tired from the long car ride and their play was slow and sloppy. Despite this sluggish play Luke Phillips was able to find the back of the net early in the third and the Coyotes held on for the 1-0 win. After a relaxing evening it was back to business early Saturday morning with a game against South Huron. The boys got off to a much better start and Hunter Preston scored early in the first. Luke Phillips added his second of the tournament midway through the game and the Coyotes strong defensive play allowed the Atom AE's to win their second straight game 2-0. The last game of the round robin schedule had Elmvale playing Ingersoll. The team carried the play and worked hard throughout the game. Every time the Coyotes scored, Ingersoll would come back and tie it up. Elmvale finally took the lead with 40 seconds left only to have the Express tie it with :18 seconds remaining. The game ended in a 3-3 tie and if it weren't for some stellar goaltending Elmvale would have won the game easily. Coyote goal scorers for the game were Ben Kelly (2) and Luke Phillips.
With their two wins and a tie the boys finished at the top of their pool which meant they played on Sunday morning against Niagara on the Lake again. The team had a great game and were able to defeat the Wolves 2-0 on a pair of goals from Connor Smith. This set up the final match against the hometown team, St Mary's. The Rock came into it having won 4 games in which they scored a total of 17 goals. Elmvale saved its best for the finals and took it to St. Mary's. The boys built up a 4-0 lead on goals from Jackson Mino, Hunter Preston, Connor Smith, and Ben Kelly and coasted to a 4-1 win! The championship game capped off a very fun and rewarding weekend for all involved. The boys won with unselfish play, hard work and team defence by Jaxon Pretty, Jaxson Johnston, Brody Prescott, Ethan Therrien and Jonas Columbus. Solid goaltending was provided by Brayson Fay (4 goals against in 5 games). Assists in the tournament were earned by Ben Kelly (3), Joshua Parnell (3), Brody Prescott, Jonas Columbus and Jackon Mino. Thanks goes out to the coaching staff of Mike Kelly, Dave Phillips, Cullen Fay, Rick Therrien and Sue Preston.
Up next for the boys is a league game against Penetang and an exhibition tune up with the Colts. The team is preparing for the Silver Stick tournament in Collingwood next weekend. Good luck to the Lions Club Atom AE's in their future games!