Wellesley/ St. Clements Silver Stick Tournament
This past weekend the Atom AE Cyclones participated in the
Wellesley/ St.Clements Regional Silver Stick.
The tournament began with Listowel facing a familiar foe in Mitchell on Thursday night. Although the Cyclones have played well against Mitchell previously, that would not be the case this time around. The team came out to start the first period lifeless, Mitchell on the other hand came out playing hard. They were able to score quickly, taking a 1-0 nothing lead less than two minutes into the period. Listowel struggled to get much of anything going for the rest of the period, however they would escape trailing by only one goal.
The second period was similar to the first. The Cyclones struggled offensively, and Mitchell continued to generate pressure. They were able to score once again to take a 2-0 lead into the third period.
Heading into the third, the Cyclones knew that they were still within striking distance, they just needed to get back to moving their feet. Mitchell put a quick end to that thought, as they were able to add another early in the period. Listowel was finally able to break through midway through the period, but Mitchell struck back just a few minutes later to put an end to any thoughts of a comeback making the final score 4-1.
Putting the previous game behind them, the Cyclones were set to play Tillsonburg on Friday night. This time the team came out with a better effort. From the start of the period the team was much more involved, winning puck battles and moving their feet. As a result they had a number of quality scoring chances in the first. The team was rewarded when the newly formed line of Evans, Wilson, and Balzer scored to give the team a 1-0 lead late in the period.
The team continued to press to start the second period, however Tillsonburg was not ready to back down. The opposition was able to score on a chance of their own early in the period to tie the game. Both teams exchanged chances for the remainder of the period before Tillsonburg once again found the back of the net to take a 2-1 lead with less than a minute remaining.
Putting the late goal behind them, the team looked to continue to play well and tie the game. Their effort paid off, as the Cyclones were able to tie the game on the first shift of the third. From there both teams battled to take the lead. Leroux, Matheson, and Kuepfer along with Coehlo, Werth, and Terpstra had some good scoring chances but were unable to cash. In the end, goaltender Dietrich along with defense Alexander, McNevan, Wilken, Frey, and Schmidt ensured that Tillsonburg could not score again, as the game ended as a 2-2 tie.
Coming off a much better effort in game two, the Cyclones looked to continue that trend in game three versus Lincoln. The team did just that playing what might have been their best game of the tournament. Although Lincoln jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead, the team continued to battle. Just two minutes later the team showed their resilience tying the game quickly. From their Listowel dominated much of the first period. They easily could have taken the lead but were unable to score against a strong Lincoln goalie. From there one of Lincoln’s players took over, scoring four goals of his own in just over six minutes giving Lincoln a 5-1 lead.
Once the game settled down, it could have been easy for the Cyclones to quit. However, they continued to fight to try to make a comeback. The team outskated Lincoln for the remainder of the game and had a number of quality scoring chances to show for it. However, no matter how hard the team pressed for the remainder of the second and third, they were unable to find the back of the net making the final 5-1. Although the score looks lopsided, it could have easily been a much closer game and the coaching staff are happy with the direction the team’s game is going. Hopefully the team will continue to play well, as regular season continues this Thursday in Mitchell, followed by a game at home Saturday against Howick, and on the road Sunday against Kincardine.
Congratulations to Evans and Leroux for winning the player of the game jacket over the weekend for displaying heart and hustle.