Bantam Reps Win Kincardine Regional Silver Stick Tournament.
A belated Christmas gift arrived for the Listowel Cyclone Bantam Rep players and coaches on Saturday, December 30th as they defeated the Walkerton Capitals to take the Kincardine Regional Silver Stick Championship title.
The first game of the tourney saw the Cyclones against the Waterford Wildcats. A convincing 5-1 victory put the boys in the right frame of mind to play the Kincardine Kinucks later that evening. Unfortunately, they couldn’t hold the Kinucks off and scoring opportunities didn’t materialize. The Kinucks won 3-1. After a day of rest, the boys were back and ready to meet Waterford for the second time. Solid goaltending combined with a true team effort, with goals from every line for a total of 6, was a great warm up for the semi-final game against the top team in the tournament, the Tavistock Titans, later that night.
With less than a minute to go at the end of the first, still scoreless, the Cyclones ended up on the penalty kill. With 0.1 seconds remaining, the Cycs found the back of the net in what would be the lone goal of the game. And just like that, the Listowel Cyclones were off to the finals!
The final game against Walkerton was a team effort in every sense of the word. Every player worked their hardest to keep pucks out of our end and to prevent scoring chances. The Cyclones went into the last five minutes of the game with a 3 goal lead. With 4:50 seconds in the third, Walkerton managed to score, setting the crowd on edge. But the boys refused to let them shoot, and though Walkerton pulled their goalie, they could not get by the Cycs. Final score: 3-1.
Congratulations to all the players, coaches and parents on a hard fought win. The Bantam Reps will play at the International Silver Stick Finals in Forest, January 19-21. Good luck boys...and remember: HARD WORK BEATS TALENT WHEN TALENT DOESN’T WORK HARD!
