Minor Atom AA White win St. Catherine's Early Bird Tournament in a Dramatic 4-3 Overtime victory!
This past weekend saw the Minor Atom AA White Junior Knights battle to a dramatic victory in their season first tournament in St. Catherine's
The saying goes that defense wins championships, and for the AA Minor Atom White Junior Knights, this was especially true. Committed to a strong defensive presence, the Knights learned quickly that teams that work together, definitely achieve more!
Game one saw the the Knights fall behind by a goal going into the third period. While they outplayed Halton badly in that final period, a final flurry around the crease in the dying seconds couldn't net the equalizer.
Halton 3, Knights 2
Game two was against the host team, Garden City. From the moment the puck dropped, the boys were hungry and never really allowed the hosts to get anything going. They also found their scoring touch, while playing an awesome game in their own end. A team shutout!
Knights 6, Garden City 0
Game three was against a tough Glancaster team. While the Knights out skated the Glancaster squad, the score was 2-1 for Glancaster to start the third period. Unfazed, the boys went to work and scored 5 unanswered goals in the final period to close it out.
Knights 6, Glancaster 2
Game four of the round robin was a crossover and the Knights faced a strong West Niagara team (who also had a 3-1 record). The game was back and forth, but the knights continued to outplay their opponents, out shooting them in the second period 13-1! A late goal in the third period, put the knights up 3-2 and committed to still playing aggressive but also being smart defensively, they sealed the win.
Knights 3, West Niagara 2
SEMI FINALS
Facing an undefeated team in a semi final would normally be a cause for nerves, but not these boys. Right out of the gate, the Knights went to work and got up 2-0 quickly on Caledon. But the Hawks were not going to be pushed over and they slowly chipped away at the Knights lead. A late goal put the boys up 3-2 and again, team defence prevailed and we were on the the finals against West Niagara who defeated Halton in the other semi.
Knights 3, Caledon 2
FINALS
We knew what were up against; a tough West Niagara team who wanted to not only avenge the early loss at the hands of the knights, but also to take the title. The game went back and forth, with several lead changes and no team being up more than one goal. It was turning out to be a true nail biter! A scramble in front of our net, resulted in the game tying goal and as the clock ran out, we knew were headed to overtime! The format was 3 on 3 for 5 minutes, then 3 person shootout, then sudden death shootout.
We set the lines of three, and OT began. We controlled the play and had a near goal, then, not even a minute or so in, we scored! The bench erupted and the Knights were champions!
Knights 4, West Niagara 3 (OT)
It was an amazing weekend, full of great camaraderie and teamwork!
So incredibly proud of this team, the players and their families for a great weekend!This article has been viewed 1036 times.