Oct 15, 2014 | pettigreb | 1404 views
2nd at Avalanche Thanksgiving Challenge
7 teams took part and the Owen Sound Minor Midget Hyundai Jr. Attack ended up Finalists at the Avalanche Thanksgiving Challenge in Toronto this past weekend.
Day 1
Game 1 saw Owen Sound defeat the host Avalanche team 3-1. Scoring for Owen Sound were Nathaniel Dodd, Tanner Prior and Griffin Boyd. The only assist went to Andrew Lavergne. Reese Pettigrew got the win for Hyundai squad between the pipes.
Game 2 was a classic back and forth tilt against the Ottawa Sting. Owen Sound was clearly the better team in this game, outshooting the Sting hitting 2 crossbars, and having 2 goals called back, however at the end of the game it ended in a 1-1 tie. Scoring for Owen Sound was Tanner Prior assisted by Matthew Lyall. Jack Armstrong played a solid game between the pipes and preserved the tie for the boys.
Day 2
Game 3 was played early Sunday morning against the Webster Cyclones from New York. Owen Sound came out on top of this game with a 3-2 victory. Scoring for the Owen Sound squad was Tanner Prior, and Brady Brown with a pair. Assists went to Matthew Lyall (2), Tanner Prior, Nathaniel Dodd, and Kurt Long. Reese Pettigrew got the win in net after a solid outing.
Game 4 was the final Round Robin game against a big Whitby Wildcat team. The boys held their own, and played a solid 2 way game. It was a back and forth tilt, however the Jr. Attack lost a close one by a score of 2-1. Scoring for Owen Sound was Griffin Boyd, assisted by Tanner Prior and Noah Rouse. Jack Armstrong played a solid game between the pipes and took the loss in net for Owen Sound. The difference in the game was a power play goal by Whitby.
This finished the round robin and Owen Sound ended up with a 2-1-1 record good for 3rd place and trip to the Semi's.
Day 3
Game 5 (Semi Final) vs. Ajax - This was a great game to watch. It went back and forth with lots of hitting, shots and saves with Owen Sound playing short handed down 2 players. After Regulation it was tied 1-1 and went to OT. Nothing could be solved during the 5 minute OT and a shootout was upon us. 5 shooters from each team went. Owen Sound scored 4 goals to Ajax's 1 and the thriller was over. Scoring for Owen Sound in regulation was Matthew Lyall, assisted by Noah Rouse. Tayan MacMillan, Kurt Long, Matthew Lyall and Brady Brown all scored in the shootout for the win. Goaltender Reese Pettigrew was solid in net and allowed 1 goal in regulation and only 1 goal in the shootout.
Game 6 (Final) vs. Whitby - Not going to make and excuses here and sound bitter, however the boys played this game, hurt and down 3 bodies to a Whitby team that had a full line up. Owen Sound lost 5-0, however if not for the acrobatics and stellar goaltending of Jack Armstrong, the game certainly could have been much worse. Owen Sound was outshot 9-1 in the 1st period and at the end of it, were only down 1-0. Our boys legs were burning heading into the 2nd and that is where the game changed and Whitby took over with 4 goals and pretty much put the game out of reach. Our boys didn't quit however and continued to skate hard, however also spent a lot time killing penalties which they could not overcome.
In the end, I believe the Coaching Staff and Parents saw a group of young men come together during the weekend, bonding at the hotel, hanging out as a group and with 5 new faces on the team, came together both on and off the ice and showed us that it should be another exciting season of hockey for this group. The boys, coaching staff and parents should all be very proud of what was accomplished this past weekend, especially playing short handed 3 of the 6 games.
During the weekend, the boys played hurt and short handed, but showed a lot of grit, determination and heart to not only get to the final day of the tournament which is the goal of any team, but get to the final game which they did.
Simply a great job boys. Well done!!!
Petti Out