The Hamilton Huskies Minor Atom MD RED faced some tough competition during the 45th Annual Wayne Gretzky International Hockey Tournament, over the Christmas break, playing seven games and an undefeated record of 6-0-1.
The “Big RED Machine” started off strong, taking control of the game from the start with a 5-1 win over the Waterloo Wolves. Good work by everyone including Dawson B. in net who did not face a lot of shots, but stopped those that mattered and kept the momentum with the Huskies. Goals by Andreas S. Carson T. Kevin F. and a pair from Mathew M. to round out the scoring and was awarded the team MVP for the opening game.
Game two was against the Amherst Knights. The Huskies came out a little sluggish and it was the Knights who scored first. The Huskies had plenty of opportunities throughout the first period, but could not bury their chances. The Huskies managed to get things rolling, scoring two goals on one shift and putting them ahead by a score of 2-1 at the end of the first period. Both goals were put in by Noah M. who was in the right place at the right time with his stick on the ice picking up the rebounds. Amherst, tied it up in the 2nd but Noah M was on fire this game and scored his third goal and natural hat trick. Noah also scored his fourth goal and fifth point of the game later in the third period. Another pretty goal came during a line change as Matteo R. controlled the puck in the offensive zone. Carson T. jumped onto the ice and raced for the high slot. With his head up, Matteo fed a nice pass over to Carson, who sent a rocket of a shot up and over the goalies blocker. Nate C. and Matthew M. added goals, and the team gave one back to Amherst for a 7-3 finish. Noah was named as the MVP for game 2.
The team kept rolling along in day two of the tournament. The team started off the day playing the Milton Winterhawks, a team that they have seen in other tournaments and the team that was on top of the leader board after the first day of competition. This one was a very entertaining match. The teams were evenly matched and it was back and forth action throughout the game. The first period was scoreless as both teams had many chance but could not find the open net. It was not until the mid point of the second period when the scoreless tie was broken by the Huskies. It was the line of Nate, Alex and Carson turn to shine. They combined for the first goal and two more in the third period which allowed the team to win the game 3-1. Nate with two goals, Alex with one and an assist. Carson assisted on all three. Matteo R. added an assist on Alex’s power play goal. Another strong game in net for Dawson, who did his part, not allowing Milton a chance to get the momentum. Nate C. walked away with MVP for game #3.
The second game later in the afternoon was a completely different affair. The boys looked tired, or maybe over confident going into the game, and struggled to stay with the Ancaster Avalanche, who seemed more determined than the Huskies to win this one. The Huskies scored first but Ancaster matched each goal with one of their own to keep the game close and mostly tied. The scoring for the Huskies was spread out over all the lines, but the team could not control the game well enough to reign in a win. The game finished as a 4-4 tie. Matteo B. did a good job in net keeping the game close. Mason G. was awarded the game MVP.
The Huskies won both the quarter final and the semi final games in the third day of the Wayne Gretzky Tournament in Brantford.
The first game of the day was the quarterfinal versus the Ancaster Avalanche, a team that they had just tied the night before. Once again, it was not one of the Huskies better efforts despite winning the game 6-4. The win allowed the team to move on to the semi final game later in the afternoon. MVP for this game was Alex B.
The second game later in the afternoon was against the Kitchener Red team. This was going to be a real test for the Huskies as this team is sitting high in the Alliance MD standings. The Rangers scored first to take an early lead, but Nate C. got the goal back a couple of minutes later on a pass from Alex B. The Rangers jumped ahead to a 3-1 lead and carried that into the third period. An early third period rush by the Rangers looked like it would put the game out of reach, but Matteo B. made a nice toe save to steer the puck into the corner. That seemed to liven up the team and swing the momentum over to the Huskies. A few minutes later Alex B. stole the puck at center ice away from a Ranger defense and went hard to the goal, literally crashing the net and tucking the puck in, bringing the Huskies within one goal of the Rangers lead. The team really controlled the momentum at this point and continued to play with better intensity. A minute later while an a power play, Matthew M. created a turnover behind the Rangers net and Kevin F. found himself in the right spot and with two pokes, jammed the puck into the net to even up the score. After another couple of good stops by Matteo B at the Huskies end, Matthew scored the go ahead goal with the help of Kevin F and David T. But the Rangers pressed hard and made it interesting by scoring the tying goal a couple of minutes later. Both teams battled hard for the final six minutes but could not score. Late in the third period with only 32 seconds left, the Rangers took a tripping penalty that carried over into the overtime period. On a play where Kevin controlled the puck and got it to the front of the net, Matthew M. was able to crash the net and poked at the puck once, twice and scored the OT winner on his third attempt. It was an awesome come-from-behind win for the Huskies and a ticket to the Championship game on the following day against the Cambridge Hawks. The MVP went to Matteo B. who was credited for making some key saves to keep the Huskies in the game.
The Huskies started off the Championship game on the right foot. Unlike any of the other games prior to this one, the boys jumped into an early lead by scoring the games 1st goal (Brayden C). The game was full of action, up and down the rink. Both teams had opportunities but not for the strong goaltending of Dawson B (game MVP) who made a number of key saves to keep the momentum with the Huskies, this one could have easily gone the other way. In the end it was the “Big RED Machine” who prevailed with a 4-2 victory and the 45th Annual Wayne Gretzky International Hockey Tournament CHAMPIONS !!!
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