Jan 11, 2018 | bingram | 1638 views
Fort Erie Champions
The
Oshawa Minor Generals Bantam AE team won their third tournament of the year
this past weekend (Jan 5-7) by winning the Fort Erie Challenge!
The team opened the tournament against West Lincoln, in a game that was kept close by a hot West Lincoln goaltender. In the end Oshawa's superior puck movement and team speed was too much for West Lincoln as they skated to a 4-2 win. Goals by – A. Mayer, T.Hammond, J.Crocker (2). Next up was the Merriton Bulldogs (St.Catherines) Saturday morning. A quick start saw the Generals jump out to a 3-0 lead before 2:30 was off the clock, with each line scoring on their first shift. The onslaught continued with the team pumping 47 shots on net and eventually taking the game 7-0. Goals by – T. Hammond (3), C. Allen, E. Powell, A. Knight, J.Crocker. With playoff seeding on the line, the team entered their final round robin game looking to solidify top spot with a convincing win. Another quick start saw Oshawa take the lead early against Ayr, and were up 2-0 midway through the 1st. The Generals relentless checking and puck movement was again on display and in the end the team skated to a decisive 5-0 win. Goals by – J. Crocker, B. Emberley, C. Allen (2), A. Lyon. The win guaranteed the team 1st place and a semi final game against Belle River Sunday at noon. Belle River would come out hard and physical the first few shifts putting the Generals on their heels, after some key saves by goaltender J.McKinnon the team got their legs going and started to turn the tide. After controlling the puck down low in the Belle River zone, T. Hammond would score the opening goal on a powerful drive off the half boards mid-way through the first period. Oshawa would then take over the game in the second period, moving and controlling the puck with authority for the remainder of the game while matching Belle River’s physical play. In the end, all three lines had a goal and the team skated to a solid 3-0 win. Goals by – T.Hammond, J.Crocker, C. Smith. The Final would pit Oshawa against the unbeaten Frontenac Flyers. For the second game in a row the opposition came on strong in the opening shifts, however the Generals goaltending was equal to the task; again the Generals would find their legs and start to get their chances. The Generals would open the scoring at the 3:23 mark of the first, T.Hammond would take a lead pass from defenceman D.Lovgren, setting up a 2 on 1 with B.Emberley, that ended with a pretty pass from Hammond that Emberley was able to jam past the goaltender. The teams would exchange chances and play a tight checking game for the next 15 minutes until the Frontenac’s would capitalize at the end of the second period on a fruituitous bounce at the side of the Generals net, tying the game 1-1. The game was scoreless in the third, and would go to a 4 on 4 OT where Generals goaltender Q.Ingram would make a some huge saves to keep it a 1-1 and take the game to a shootout. In the shootout Ingram would stop all three Frontenac shooters and Emberley would score the game and tournament winner on a beautiful forehand-backhand-forehand deke!
Of note was the total team effort. Every player had a point, which included 1 goal and 10 assist from the D. An average of 148 passes completed per game and the goaltenders playing their usual 5 minute shifts were excellent in allowing 3 goals in 5 games.
Congratulations boys and Go Gens Go!