Congratulations to the Oshawa Minor Generals Novice AA team who won SILVER following their amazing performance at the Guelph Power Play tournament.
Despite outshooting their 1st opponent 26-6, the Novices kicked off their tournament early Friday morning with a 2-2 tie against the Tecumesh Eagles. In their second game Friday afternoon the Novices battled hard, ultimately falling just short, losing 3-2 to the Windsor Junior Spitfires.
Heading into Saturday the Novices had another very early morning game, but came to play tying the Chatham Kent Cobras 1-1. In order to advance to the Semi-Finals on Sunday, the Saturday afternoon game became a 'must win'. Facing one of the top teams in their pool, the Novices brought their 'A' game battling from the 1st whistle to the last buzzer to defeat the LaSalle Sabres 2-1.
On Sunday in the semi final match, the Novices played an undefeated Nepean Raiders team in another 'must win' early morning game. Both teams came to play and put on an outstanding show of grit and determination for all those in attendance. The Oshawa Minor Gens demonstrated incredible resilience by getting out to an early 1-0 lead and holding off a strong late push from Nepean, coming out on top to advance to the Final!
In the Final, the Minor Gens faced the undefeated home town Guelph Gryphons. The Novice Minor Gens got off to a quick start and had Guelph on their heels getting out to an early 1-0 lead. In the second period Guelph found their legs and started to push back. After tying the game, Guelph benefitted from a couple of fortunate bounces and went ahead 3-1. True to their character, in the 3rd period the Novices continued to battle and never gave up, but finished down 5-1 to a strong Guelph team.
Overall, the Coaching Staff could not have been prouder of our team! It was a fantastic developmental opportunity for our athletes as they consistently demonstrated improvement as they progressed throughout the tournament. Of equal importance, it was a great weekend of team building for the players and their families on and off the ice. Lastly, the Novice AA Team consistently represented themselves, their families, and our centre with sportsmanship and class.
The coaching staff would like to acknowledge and thank all of our families and the players for their dedication and commitment over the weekend, and for their collective contributions towards an outstanding Positive Hockey Experience for our team.