Impressive Showing by Bantam Reps at International Silver Stick Finals In Forest, News (Listowel Minor Hockey Association)

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Jan 23, 2018 | cltest2 | 1603 views
Impressive Showing by Bantam Reps at International Silver Stick Finals In Forest
The Listowel Cyclone Bantam Reps arrived at the International Silver Stick Finals for their first game in Thedford Friday morning expecting to play some competitive hockey, have fun and make a few memories. To the surprise of everyone, including first place Ottawa West Knights,they ended up Finalists.

Friday’s action pitted the Cyclones against the Wallaceburg Lakers. The boys were a bit travel
weary, and didn’t get off to a great start, scoring too late in the game to pull out a win. Final
score 6-3 for Wallaceburg. Next up, the Cycs met the Brandon Bulls, all the way from Tampa
Bay, Florida. A strong effort offensively, and finally getting the power play working, led the Cycs
to a 6-1 victory.
Saturday morning, the Cyclones met the Penetang Flames. Though the boys worked hard and
stayed out of the box for the duration of the game, the Cycs were unable to get past the strong
Penetang defense and lost 1-0. Luckily, the Cyclones managed to gain a spot in the semi finals
as the fourth place team. Unfortunately, this meant they would play against the only undefeated
team in the tournament; the first place Ottawa West Knights.
Undeterred, the Cyclones took to the ice for the semi final that evening. The Cyclones struck
first early in the game with a power play goal. By the end of the second period, the Golden
Knights tied it up, bringing the crowd to the edge of their seats. With 5 minutes left in the third,
The Knights struck again, pulling ahead 2-1. Finding themselves on a 5 on 3 power play, with
1:33 on the clock, and a hundred to one shot, the Cyclones tied up the game. With the
momentum in their favour, it only took the Cycs 45 seconds to strike again, pulling ahead to 3-2,
with only 48 seconds left on the clock. With our strong goaltending and solid defense, the
Golden Knights would not find another scoring chance. And with that, the Cyclone Bantam
Reps were off to the International Silver Stick Finals, where they would again meet the
Penetang Flames.
The boys worked hard to get to International Finals and wanted so badly to grace the halls of
the Steve Kerr Memorial Arena with the coveted Silver Stick. Unfortunately, scoring chances
against the Flames came too late, and finding ourselves too often on the penalty kill ate up the
clock. The journey would end with a 3-1 loss, with an empty net goal being the final nail in the
coffin with 15 seconds remaining.
While the loss will hang with the boys for quite some time, the pride that their parents and
coaches feel will last longer. The Bantam Rep Cyclones have shown us what is possible when
you play unselfishly and give it your all. We couldn’t be prouder to call these boys International
Silver Stick Finalists.

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