Mar 26, 2017 | pdavis | 755 views
Ayr Hockey Challenge Tournament
There was no time to wallow in self pity over the difficult loss on Thursday March 23.
Firstly, the Lindsay Muskie Teal team played their best and the coaching staff did a fantastic job leading the team to the final game.
Secondly, they had to be up early Friday morning...brush their teeth..comb their hair and get dressed and load themselves into the car for a trip to Ayr, Ontario.
The playoffs were over but the season was far from over!!! Our Muskies had entered the Ayr Hockey Challenge and their first game was at 2pm.
Game 1 vs Saugeen Shores (2PM Friday March 24, 2017)
Most of the team arrived at the NDCC arena at around Noon so they could relax and take the arena in before rushing to the dressing rooms and preparing for the game.
The arena was the "Taj Mahal" of arenas that housed the Junior C Ayr Centennials, who were in a great playoff run of their own.
The arena had close to 1,000 seats and had an amazing display screen/clock over centre ice, which gave it the overall professional ambiance.
Our Muskies were pumped and the atmosphere had them ready to hit the ice and battle hard!
The puck dropped just after 2pm and our Muskies seemed a little tentative and let the Saugeen team take control of the play in the first minute.
With just 1:13 played in the game the Saugeen team busted down the left wing and fired one over our goalie shoulder into the right top corner of the net. 1-0 Saugeen.
It appeared as though we were going to be in for a tough afternoon on the ice...after a tough loss the night before in the A Championship finals..many were wondering if it was having an effect on our players.
The thoughts were quickly diminished as Jackson Q. took the puck in the neutral zone and deked around two Saugeen players before firing a wrist shot over the glove of the netminder and tying the game. 1-1!!!!
Jackson Q.'s goal fired up the Muskies and it became a very lopsided affair.
It would take me pages to describe every single goal and to be very honest, I admit that I could not recall all of the goals because there were too many.
After the buzzer sounded to end the game...the scoreboard read: Lindsay 10; Saugeen 2. Lindsay also hit 6 posts during this game and the coaching staff changed up the lines and had defence playing forward and forward playing defence.
Of note, Kiera W. illustrated her toughness as she received only her 2nd and 3rd penalty of her entire playing career!
After the game the team headed back to the Homewood Suites Hilton in Cambridge, Ontario.
While many of the parents prepared and cooked for a large team party/dinner...many of the team members and their siblings checked out the hotel and discovered all of the amenities.
Connor S. brought his mini stick nets and they were taken outside to the basketball courts and a massive mini stick game took place.
Those that were not interested in playing mini sticks took to the basketball court and played 21 and "HORSE" to pass the time.
After about an hour and a half of playing outside; the team all headed to their rooms to change into swim suits and head to the indoor pool.
Coach Chris T. jumped in with the kids and instantly became a hit as the kids splashed him, jumped on him, used him as a climbing toy and almost drowned him.
The parents that were not cooking were able to enjoy some down time poolside as it had been a long day already with an early wake time and a long drive.
Thats not to say they did not get wet!..the kids had a football and and other pool toys so that anyone poolside was considered collateral damage.
Dinner was prepared and ready to eat at around 6:30pm and was being served in an additional room that the team had rented..there was a wide array of foods for one to choose from and a couple parents even went out of their way to make hot dogs for the kids.
With a 9am start on Saturday morning, the kids went to bed early to prepare for their next game against Port Colborne.
Game 2 vs Port Colborne (9am Saturday March 25, 2017)
The team was all down for breakfast at the hotel and they all seemed to have their game faces on at 7am while all of the parents were trying to wake up after a long tiring Friday.
The puck dropped just after 9am and it didnt take long for our Muskies to take control of the game.
23 seconds into the game, Steven T. passed the puck up the left side to Owen V. who skated down the wing and fired the puck over the net minders glove hand. 1-0 Muskies.
This would prove to be the beginning of a rout as our Muskies were too much for the Port Colborne team. It could have been much worse but the Port Colborne goalie made some good saves as the shots on net got out of hand.
The coaches again changed lines and positions in an attempt to lower the scoring chances and to give some players a new challenge. The changes did not slow the scoring chances and it almost seemed that the chances increased as the time ticked on.
Once again, my memory is not as good as it used to be and to recall all of the goals would be impossible.
When the buzzer sounded to end the game the score was Lindsay 16, Port Colborne 0
This game was the longest game I have ever had to witness as the clock stopped at every goal because it was a tournament.
After the game everyone again headed back to the hotel and the kids again enjoyed playing some mini stick games while others played man hunt and exploring the hotel.
The team ordered lunch and everyone descended on the "team room" to enjoy and bond.
The next game was at 5pm and would be held in the old arena in downtown Ayr.
Game 3 vs Delhi (5 pm Saturday March 25, 2017)
Game 3 was to be held at Queen Elizabeth arena in downtown Ayr, Ontario and it was like time travelling back to the 1970's! The sign outside was one reminiscent of the old Maple Leaf Gardens, and the ice itself looked small and dark.
Some of the Delhi players started coming into the arena and walked by me at almost mouth level.
Considering I am over 6 feet tall, this is impressive for a 9 or 10 year old! One of their players was at least 5'10 on skates and he looked like an adult on the ice playing with children.
On a large playing surface the bigger bodies would be no issue because they were big but they were slow..on a small ice surface they could prove to be an issue because it would be more difficult to use speed against them.
Our Muskies did not have their best game as they appeared tired, their feet were not moving and they could not seem to get by the large defencemen that clogged up the neutral zone and the defensive zone.
The first two games had been blowouts and passing was not as important in those games...it appeared as though they thought they could win against Delhi without using their passing.
With 3:31 to play in the 1st period, Delhi was awarded a penalty shot after their player was hauled down on a partial breakaway. Their player made a great move on the penalty shot and slid one past our goalie to take the lead. 1-0 Delhi.
Lindsay started to play a little better in the 2nd period and with 5:20 left in the period..Tyler P. took the puck from the Delhi defence and moved down the left side of the net and shot it over the glove hand of the Delhi goalie to tie the game. 1-1!!!
The Delhi goalie stood on his head and had a remarkably quick glove hand; anything near his glove was snatched up and no rebounds were permitted.
Delhi was not a pushover on this small ice and they had a couple of quick crafty players who could take advantage of a giveaway. With 6:57 played in the 3rd period, Delhi took advantage of a giveaway and moved into our zone and fired the puck on net.
Our goalie made a great save but the rebound went right to a Delhi player who was parked on the left side of the net...he made no mistake and buried it into the empty side. 2-1 Delhi
Our Muskies had their chances to tie the score but again, the Delhi netminder stood on his head and made save after save after save.
The buzzer sounded to end the game and Lindsay had lost their 1st game 2-1. It was not their best effort and they would have to put it behind them and prepare for the semi finals the next day.
Lindsay finished the Round Robin with a record of 2-1 which tied them for 2nd place. The tiebreaker was penalty minutes and Lindsay had 20 PIM in the 1st 3 games which was far more than any other team in the tournament.
Therefore, the Semi Finals Division 1 would consist of: East Lambton vs Delhi; Ayr vs Lindsay
Most of the team and parents headed back to the hotel and Manager Shannon made sure again that dinner was looked after and she ordered pizza that would be served in the "team room".
Tyler P. had a Birthday celebration with a gigantic cake that mostly all enjoyed! After enjoying dinner and cake some of the parents and kids watched the Leafs vs Buffalo while others headed to the pool.
Kirby S. was the adult entertainment in the pool this day as he jumped in and threw the football around with the kids.
It was an early night to bed again for the kids..they had a big job to finish the next day and they would need all the rest they could
Semi Finals vs Ayr (11am Sunday March 26, 2017)
Everyone was up early to pack up their things and to make sure that all was loaded into the car before they had to travel to the NDCC arena to play in the big Semi Final game with the home team Ayr.
The puck dropped just after 11am and our Muskies seemed a little flat footed again and seemed to have trouble figuring out the Ayr team.
With just 1:13 into the game, an Ayr player came racing down the left side and fired the puck over the right shoulder of our goalie to take an early 1-0 lead.
As the game moved on, our Muskies seemed to gain strength and confidence and they began to take control of the puck and the game.
Our defence reduced Ayr's opportunities in our end of the ice and the shots began to decrease on our goalies.
However, the Ayr goalie was solid and made some fantastic saves on all of our players and we just couldn't get a lucky bounce to go our way.
With 2:27 left to play in the 2nd period, Jarrett B. had the puck behind the net and came around the left side and slid it into the slot for Kiera W. who fired it into the left lower corner of the net. 1-1!!!!
This goal definitely woke up our Muskies and the play started to become one sided..except the Ayr goalie was not prepared to give up another goal.
With only 3:58 left in the 3rd period, Owen D. was in the left corner in the Ayr end and passed it back to Steven T.
Steven fired the puck on net and Sammy T. grabbed the puck and jammed it over the line to give us the lead. 2-1 Lindsay!!!!!!!!
At this point the Lindsay defence played extra cautious and cleared anything that came into their end to thwart any scoring chances Ayr could muster.
The offence chipped in and backchecked well and made sure they were on their wings to clear any pucks coming up the boards.
The buzzer sounded to end the game and the Lindsay Muskies were headed to the Ayr Hockey Challenge Tourney Division 1 Finals!!!!!!!
The kids took their skates and uppers off but kept the rest of their equipment on. There was only an hour rest between games and no point in fully undressing.
FINALS vs East Lambton (1pm Sunday March 26, 2017)
The game was late starting as the game prior to this was for the Novice Division 1 Championship and they were handing out trophies and medals to all of the kids involved in that final game.
The puck dropped at about 1:17 and Lindsay took control of the game early.
With 1:49 played in the 3rd period, Jack E. passed the puck up the right side to Kiera W. who spotted Sammy T. up the middle and hit him with a pass. Sammy T. moved in on goal and made no mistake firing it over the glove side to give our Muskies an early lead. 1-0 Lindsay!
E.L. did not give up and a mere 9 seconds later they took the puck down the left side and fired it into the right corner of the net to notch the game at 1-1
With 4:26 left in the 1st period, Tyson N. stopped a clearing attempt and fired the puck on net..Josh G. scooped up the rebound and buried it past the E.L. goalie. 2-1 Muskies!!!!!
It would not prove to be an extremely tense game as most parents have been used to as of late. Lindsay was in control of the game for the most part and the majority of the play was in the E.L. end of the ice with their goalie making great saves. Our Muskies peppered her with shot after shot and she somehow managed to get a glove, pad, blocker or stick on them.
With 5:53 left to play in the 2nd period, Sammy T. was on the last leg of another great passing link that involved Connor S. and Tyler P....he fired the puck into the net and gave our Muskies some much needed breathing room and relaxed all of the parents and coaches. 3-1 Lindsay!!!!!!!
E.L. took advantage of a turnover and made the game a little closer with 53 seconds left in the 2nd period. 3-2 Lindsay.
The 3rd period was again all Lindsay, they controlled the play and seemed to move the puck with ease in the E.L. zone but could not seem to capitalize again on the stubborn goalie.
With 2:28 left in the game Kiera W. passed the puck to Sammy T. who saw Connor S. at the right side of the net...he slid the puck over and Connor S. fired the puck bar down into the right side of the net. 4-2 Muskies!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.
E.L. tried everything they could to get past the Muskie offence and defence but they could not figure out a way.
The buzzer sounded to end the game and our Muskies finished the season as Champions!!!!!!!!
It was a fantastic way to end the season...the kids celebrated on the ice and congratulated each other on a tough tourney where they overcame some odds to reach the pinnacle.
The coaching staff had this team starting to fire on all cylinders at the right time and was awesome to see them able to celebrate at the end.
In a sign of great sportsmanship the Ayr tourney heads had each player shake hands with the other team after receiving their medals...a class act!!!!!
Top 5 in Points for the Tourney
1. Sammy T. 5G 4A 9PTS
2. Kiera W. 3G 6A 9PTS
3. Jarrett B. 3G 5A 8PTS
Owen D., Jack E., Steven T., Josh G. and Owen V. all with 6 PTS
Thank you to all of the parents that lugged crock pots and food to feed the team over the weekend. It was all delicious and I personally thank you all :)
Thank you to the parents for waking up early to make a long trip to the KW area and sacrificing your weekends and hard earned money to ensure your kids were a part of this fantastic memory
Thank you to the coaching staff who shared some laughs, some dance moves and some tears..also thank you for steering the kids through all of the games and allowing them to have fun and making them proud to be part of the Lindsay Muskie Teal Team.
Thanks again to the kids for the new vocabulary(Savage)..for making us all laugh and for schooling me at basketball.
A special thanks to Skye for being a phenomenal babysitter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!