On the 19th of October the Garb and Gear Source for Sports Midgets made their way eastward along the 401 to the beautiful city of Ottawa for the 8th annual Ottawa Senators Showcase Tournament. The tournament drew teams from across the province, many of which were ranked in the top 20.
Game 1 matched the Grey Bruce Highlanders against the Timmins Majors. Both teams took to the ice and thus began the battle for ice supremacy. Grey Bruce opened the scoring in the 1st when Braden Boley with help from Josh Perdue and Connor Shaw put one into the Majors net. The scored remained 1-0 until the third when Liam Francis (Mt. Forest) from Colin Rigney (Singhampton) and Connor Shaw put the Highlanders up 2-0. This was quickly followed with a third Highlander goal scored by Reid Simmons (Hepworth) and assisted by Jamie Bennett (Shelburne). Timmins attempted the comeback; however with little time on the clock they were only able to put a single puck past Tibor Svitek (Guelph) who earned the 3-1 win for Grey Bruce.
Game 2 paired your Highlanders against a previous rival, the Toronto Jr. Canadians. These two had met before with The Jr. Canadians coming out on top. In the rematch the Garb and Gear Midgets started off strong with Connor Shaw (Elmwood) from Josh Perdue (Port Elgin) and Braden Boley (Owen Sound) making it 1-0 to end the first Unfortunately, while short-handed, the Canadians were able to make it 1-1 and followed that up with 2 more to make it a 3-1 game. In period three Ben Scheel (Kincardine) assisted by Justin Graham (Shelburne) and Liam Francis (Mt. Forest) made a game of it, but the team was ultimately defeated when Toronto put two more in, making the final 5-2.
On the 20th of October, as the tournament progressed, the Midget highlanders faced off against the Sudbury Nickel City Sons. Both teams fought the good fight and either team was able to score in the first. In the second period things changed when Nickel City put up the games first marker. This was quickly followed up by the Highlanders Justin Graham (Shelburne) who scored with the assistance of Brandon Eagles (Meaford) and Colin Rigney (Singhampton) to tie it up, ending period 2. In the 3rd period Quinten Bruce (Grand Valley) assisted by Brandon Eagles and Liam Francis (Mt. Forest) made it 2-1 and to cap it off Ben Scheel (Kincardine) from Justin Graham and Brandon Eagles scored to make it a 3-1 Grey Bruce win.
In their 4th game of the Tournament the Highlanders drew a game against the Kirkland Lake 87’s. This match saw a tired and worn out Kirkland Lake team fall to the Highlanders 10-0. Earning the Shut out for the Highlanders was Malcolm Young.
At the end of the round robin portion of the tournament, the Highlanders found themselves in second place and off to the quarterfinals against the highly ranked South Central Coyotes. The two teams squared off, both clearly determined to walk off with a win and into the semi-finals. The first period was a draw with both teams failing to put a puck past two very strong goal tenders. In the second though, the coyotes where fortuitous and earned the games first point. This held until the third, when Brandon Eagles (Meaford) with help from his line mate Ben Scheel (Kincardine) scored to tie up the game. This brought the third to an end with each team deadlocked at 1 apiece. The game would need overtime to be decided. It was a scant 2:39 in when Justin Graham (Shelburne) scored an unassisted O.T. goal to move the Garb and Gear Source for Sport Midgets into the semi-finals.
Early morning on the 21st of October and the Grey Bruce Highlanders arrive at the rink to find themselves in the semi-finals facing the North York Rangers. This game was played by two determined teams, each vying for a spot in the finals. In the first period North York scored twice making the Highlanders fight to remain in the game. With seconds remaining in the first Connor Shaw (Elmwood) from Justin Graham (Shelburne) and Brandon Eagles (Meaford) made the game 2-1. Throughout the next two periods both teams fought for puck possession but neither team was able to get another goal. The score remained 2-1 pushing North York onto the finals where they ultimately defeated the Oakville Rangers.
The 2-1 semi final loss was bitter sweet as the Garb and Gear Source for Sports Midgets walked from the arena having earned a bronze medal in an extremely competitive, 20-team tournament tournament with a vast pool of talented players.