Mar 29, 2015 | khussey | 1759 views
Midgets Win 'B' Title in Waterford Tournament
The Howick Midget Hornets finished off their season this past weekend by heading to Waterford for a year end tournament. The past two seasons Howick has not had much success at this tournament, each year losing their first pair of games before winning back to back 'D' titles.
This season the Hornets opened the tournament against a team from Dresden. Despite the long drive down Howick came out strong to open the game. Cole Miller picked up the puck deep in the Dresden zone, and from a sharp angle blazed a rocket of a slap shot into the top corner to open the scoring. The Hornets nursed this lead until the final minute of the opening frame. A nifty move by Dustin Robertson left a defender looking for his shorts in the corner. Robertson then drove to the net and was left with lots of time bang home the opportunity, widening the lead to 2-0. Graham Devlin, Evan Fraser and Kyle Dickert each earned an assist in the opening period.
Dresden scored in the second period to draw within a goal, but Howick opened their lead back up in the third. Mitch Baillie and Dickert assisted on Miller's second goal of the game. Later, Robertson's shot was stopped by the Dresden goaltender, but he gave out a rebound. Devlin attempted to bang the rebound home, but he too was stopped by the keeper. It wasn't until the puck squirted out to Baillie that the loose puck was hammered home. In the dying minutes Baillie knocked in another loose puck to seal a 5-1 victory for the Hornets. With the win, Howick could finish no worse than fourth overall in the tournament.
After spending a quiet night at a hotel in Brantford, where all players behaved and went to bed early, the Hornets were back at it Sunday morning, facing a second team from Dresden. Howick fell behind early, as Dresden scored on a penalty shot twenty seconds into the game. Another goal had Howick training 2-0 after the opening frame.
A comeback would not be easy for the Hornets as Dresden had brought a hot goaltender to the tournament. A rebound from a Tristan Brears point shot was potted by Devlin in the opening minute of the second period to put Howick on the board. Midway through the third Howick was handed a gift. A Dresden defenseman fanned on his clearing pass and Robertson stole the puck and deked to the forehand to open up enough space to tie the game at two. Shortly after a fluky goal gave Dresden the lead for good, as Howick fell 4-2.
After splitting their first two games, Howick was set to face Tillsonburg in the 'B' final. Both teams were evenly matched, and this game would go the distance. Strong defense in the first half of the game by Dickert, Brears, Kenzie Brooks and Cole Meyer, along with hard back checking by Austin Clarke and the rest of the forwards helped limit chances. Blake Fraser was up to the task and turned away all chances by Tillsonburg. With just under four minutes left in the second, Tillsonburg opened the scoring. Having come too far to back down, Howick pressed for the victory. On a Hornet power play late in the second, Robertson worked the puck back to Brooks at the point. In turn, he found Brears on the other point. His slap shot beat the Tillsonburg goaltender under his glove to tie up the game. With less than thirty seconds remaining in the second, a Brooks point shot was tipped home by Devlin to give the Hornets a 2-1 lead heading into the final period.
Tillsonburg came out hard in the third and Howick found themselves down 3-2 with only six minutes to go. Despite a pair of power plays Howick was unable to tie the game up. On one final power play, Devlin found himself in the right spot at the right time and banged home the tying goal on a rebound from another Brooks point shot with 1:13 remaining.
This set the scene for an exciting finish. Howick opened the overtime period on another five on three power play. Despite a number of chances, the score remained tied. A penalty put Howick down a man late in overtime, but the Hornets were able to kill of the penalty as the gave headed to a shootout.
With the Dresden and Tavistock teams watching, along with a full crowd in the stands, the shootout got underway. Each team selected five shooters for the opening rounds. Both Robertson and Dickert scored as the shootout was knotted 2-2 after the first five rounds. This lead to sudden death rounds to determine a champion. Matt Schraa and Kenzie Brooks both scored in the next six rounds as the shootout remained tied through 11 rounds. All Howick skaters had shot and in the 12th round Cole Miller came out for his second attempt. As Blake Fraser stopped the Tillsonburg shooter, Miller came in slowly and deked to the backhand. His shot found the roof of the net, as his teammates erupted from the bench to celebrate. The goal made Howick the 'B' Champions of the Waterford tournament, capping off the Hornets' season with an exciting and memorable moment.
The coaching staff would like to thank the players for a very enjoyable season, as well as the parents for supporting this great team throughout the year.