At the mid point of the season the PeeWee AE's have 4 tournaments and 7 league games under their belt. Their battle, compete and consistency earned them a spot in the semi at Regional Silver Stick.
In the first 3 tournaments we were competitive but goals were hard to come by. In the 10 games we played in those first 3 tournaments our recocord was 3-6-2 and we only manged to score 13 goals. Going into Silver stick we knew we would be up against some tough teams, and had to improve our scoring.
In our first game at Regional Silver Stick the kids played great team defence, capitalized on their scoring chances, and came up with a 4-0 win over Petrolia. Next up was a tough game against the host South Huron Sabres. South Huron had beat us 5-2 in Mitchell, so we knew we were in for a battle. By the mid-point of the game we had built a 2-0 lead, but knew the Sabres wouldn't quit. In the second period South Huron managed to put 18 shots on net, but with our consistently strong goaltending they managed only 1-goal. The Sabres would eventually tie it in the 3rd, but with 5 mins to go the Cyclones scored the eventual game winner, to secure themselves a spot in the semi-final. This was a game where the kids realized they could compete with good teams. After losing our last round robin game to Mount Brydges, we would face Strathroy in the semi, the first place seed in the other pool. Opposite of our game with South Huron, we found ourselves down 2-0 at the midway point, but we were playing a great game. The kids continued to battle, and would tie the game early in the 3rd. By this point we were dominating Strathroy, but just could not capitalize on our chances. Strathroy would catch a break with 10 seconds to go and score the winning goal. It was a tough loss to swallow, in a game where everyone played great, and left it all on the ice.
The confidence and compete level that the kids have developed through the first half of the season is what they need to finish the regular season strong. December is a busy month where we have 9 league games to play as we ramp up for the playoffs. The PeeWee AE's will play the second last Minor Hockey game to ever be played at the Memorial, Saturday at 1:00 just prior to the Jeuvenile game. Let’s try to get as many fans as possible out to give the Memorial the great farewell it deserves from Minor Hockey.