Feb 09, 2012 | mdamignani | 1728 views
Impressive Showing for Scandinave Minor PeeWees At Wolves Tournament
The Scandinave Minor PeeWees spent last weekend participating in the The Central Ontario Wolves Classic in Lindsay Ontario. The Highlander squad had their best tournament showing of the year as the boys played some of their best hockey of the season.
In game #1, the Minor PeeWees tackled with the North Central Predators. When the Predators scored 19 seconds into the contest, there were a few stunned people in the crowd. The team quickly put that goal behind them and started to play some better hockey. Justin Marlowe scored his first of two on a feed from Carter Buehlow to even the match. Heading into the third, the team found themselves down by 2 as the clock began to tick down. Marlowe collected his second marker of the game to bring the boys within one. Brayden McKenzie and Derrick Cornfield collected the helpers. With under a buck and a half to go in the third, the boys got the puck deep and Hayden Coulter potted the tying goal on a feed from Jamie Damignani. The Highlanders displayed a lot of character bouncing back from a sloppy start. Lucas Pfeil was solid in net, especially in the third frame when the boys were down a pair.
Full of momentum from their earlier comeback, the boys were determined to pull out a victory against the Hamburg Hawks from New York state. The team took control from the drop of the puck and took it to the Hawks. In the second period, Hayden Coulter got the boys on the board. Trevor Donaldson chipped in with the helper. Up by only one goal in the third, the Highlanders continued to press and were rewarded with 2 more goals. Jamie Damignani notched the second goal with the help of Connor Roberts and Hayden Coulter. When the buzzer finally rang, the Team had secured the 3-0 victory. Malachi Albrecht stopped everything thrown at him as he registered the shutout.
Heading into game #3, you could see the young PeeWee squad starting to gain some much deserved confidence. When the puck dropped against the Chatham-Kent Cyclones, the boys were firing on all cylinders. In the first period, Connor Roberts unleashed a "natural hatrick" as he blasted 3 past the Cyclones tender. Brayden McKenzie collected 2 assists and Carter Buehlow collected the single helper. Brendan Cederberg notched the fourth goal in the third to give the Highlanders a 4-2 victory. Lucas Pfeil collected the victory as he thwarted the Cyclone comeback in the third period.
In game #4, the team was looking to secure first place after round robin action. This would require a victory against the host Wolves. This was a spirited affair with plenty of scoring opportunities and some textbook bodychecks. The boys once again fell behind early but persisted throughout the affair. Carter Buehlow popped in the first marker and tied the game early in the second. Leif McFadden chipped in with the helper. The Highlander squad found themselves down 3-1 in the third but played some of their best hockey of the season to tie the game during the third. Connor Roberts got the troops going with the help of his linemates Hayden Coulter and Brendan Cederberg. Evan Visser tied the game midway through the third. Jamie Damignani and Connor Roberts collected the helpers. The team ran into some penalty issues and before you could say "is that a gnome in the corner", the Wolves popped 2 quick ones in to earn a 5-3 victory. Malachi Albrecht was sharp between the pipes as the Wolves played a physical game in front of the net.
For the first time this season during tournament play, the boys found themselves back at the rink Sunday morning in a semi-final matchup against the Brampton Battalion....Yes. The Battalion from the SCTA. The team was stoked as they hit the ice for the pregame warm up. When the puck finally dropped, the fans were treated to some beautiful hockey. The team took it to the Battalion early and often but soon found themselves down 2-0. To their credit once again, the boys kept their heads up high and continued to press. Jamie Damignani slipped one through the stingy Battalion netminder to narrow the lead to 1. At the other end, Lucas Pfeil did his best to keep the team within striking distance. The Highlanders had glorious scoring opportunities during the third but could only manage to leave a few pucks straggling on the goal line. On this Sunday morning, it wasn't meant to be.
Once again, the weekend was a success on many fronts. The "Bar Down Boys" continued to strengthen their great friendships and they battled hard on the ice for each other as teammates. They proved to themselves that they can compete at the highest level. Heck, even the Dads had a good weekend! "Hail Caesar!"