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Wednesday, January 23, 2013 Brampton, ON: - Teams from across North America gathered this past weekend in Sarnia for a weekend of fierce competition and a chance to to be crowned the best hockey club in North America. When everything was said and done and the whistles were finally put away your hometown Brampton 45`s Midget AA team had claimed the top spot, winning the prestigious International Silverstick Championship Midget AA division.
The Silverstick tournament began 54 years ago and has grown to become an enormous competition, with a combined total of 65,000 participants from 19 US Regional qualifiers, 26 Canadian Regional qualifiers and 13 Finalist tournaments. This years tournament was played January 18th -20th. This weekend started on Friday evening with Brampton defeating the North Pittsburgh Wildcats by a score of 6-1. Points came from all lines with a special mention for Mark Terry`s outstanding goaltending. Two games on Saturday. Brampton needed to win both to have any hope of advancing to the semi finals and play on Sunday. The first game of the day had the boys facing a spirited Jr. Ducks team all the way from Anaheim California. Fast paced and clean the game tilted Brampton`s way in the second with Brampton pulling ahead of the Ducks and never looking back. Brampton 8 - Ducks 1. Special mention for Alex McMillan and Ryan Racanelli both boys scored short-handed goals. Alex had one and Ryan got a pair in the same penalty kill. Game two on Saturday evening was expected to be a true test for our Midget 45`s as Brampton was set to face off against the #3 ranked USA team in their age group, a powerhouse team called the Littleton Hawks. Littleton came out flying as this was a `must win` game for the Americans, a tie or a loss to Brampton would put them out of the tournament. The 45`s came to play and showed our friends from the south how to play under pressure. After getting in some unnecessary penalty trouble, the Hawks gave up two quick goals to Brampton`s now infamous power play squads. The game became heated as Brampton`s continual and unforgiving barrage frustrated and annoyed the top tier US team. The Brampton boys coasted to their third straight win of the weekend finishing of the deflated Littleton Hawks, 6 to 1. A great win!! A special mention goes to Christopher Grenier who scored one power play goal and aded a short-handed goal. With their preliminary game total sitting at 3 wins, 0 losses and 0 ties, Brampton had secured the number one overall tournament ranking heading into the play-offs. The semi-finals were played early Sunday morning. Brampton found themselves playing against the York Devils, ranked #8 in the US. A clean game that could have gone either way found Brampton on top again beating the Devils 4-1. Special mention goes to all the parents for getting up at 5:30 am. The championship game was set, Brampton would face the Aurora Tigers. The Tigers had soundly beaten the Ottawa Sting earlier in the day to earn their way to the final game and a chance at the title. From the first puck drop the game exploded with both teams hungry for the win and the bragging rights that go with it. This was a game that will be talked about and remembered by all the players for years to come. Brampton took an early lead scoring the first goal. Aurora would have none of that scoring a quick goal to tie the game at 1 apiece. Brampton replied with another marker in the second to head to the dressing room only up by one goal, 2-1. The third period was spectacular. The Tigers scored early, tying the game 2-2. Brampton scored again to go ahead 3-2, the Tigers roared back with two unanswered goals. Back and forth they went and, with only 4 minutes left in the game, Brampton found themselves down 4-3. Not known for giving up or losing their cool, the 45`s stepped on the gas and, with a great individual effort by Alex McMillan, tied the game at 4-4 with only a couple of minutes left. Overtime loomed and both teams began showing signs of fatigue then Chris Grenier broke loose, soared up the ice and finished with a beautifully placed shot beating the Aurora goalie top shelf. Christopher`s goal, with 21 seconds left on the clock, was the final goal scored, Brampton wins 5-4! Special mention to Christopher Grenier for completing a hat-trick inkling the game winner while playing injured. Congratulations goes out to Aurora for a game that could have gone either way. The Tigers are an excellent, well coached team who are sure to do well moving into the Provincial play-downs this season. Good luck with the rest of your season! The win this weekend was capped off when two of your Brampton players, goaltender Mark Terry and centre Cameron Bell, were named to the Silverstick "All Star" team!! We`re not done yet folks, Brampton was also recognized for their sportsmanship throughout the tournament by winning the coveted Lyle Kirk Memorial Award!! This award is given to the Midget team displaying the honourable qualities of good discipline, attitude, ability and conduct, as well as general all around good sportsmanship throughout the Silver Stick Finals in Sarnia, Ontario. Congratulations Brampton 45`s on winning your the 1st ever International Midget AA Silverstick tournament and doing it in a way that we can all be proud of!! Great work team!! Submitted by Dan Ford © 2013 Ontario Minor Hockey Association. All rights reserved. |
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