The Listowel Cyclones U13 1 team definitely came to play as we headed up the 400 to take on the Northerners at the house that Orr built in the Bob Beaumont Tourney November 21st to 23rd!
The Tournament started Friday afternoon with the first game being against the Clearview Canucks (Stayner-Creemore). The Cyclones came out flying, showing no ill affects from the drive as they played a stellar 200 foot game; back checking hard, and snapping the puck around in the opponents end. Although a bit of a lopsided victory, it showed great team chemistry with good puck movement all around. This was highlighted by 2 goals from the point from
#10 Logan Richardson. Other contributors included
#2 Ollie Gutknecht,
#7 Max Vasquez Schalk, and
#4 Noah Contardi. Some assists of note included
#5 Logan Martin, #11 Austin McIntosh and #15 Carter Ropp all lending a hand with these goals. Although not facing a pile of shots, great work between the pipes with
#1 Landon Montgomery getting the shutout.
After a long team supper; the Cycs did not let the chicken fingers and pops weigh them down as they beat up on one of the home teams during the last game of the night Friday. This time, they shut down the Parry Sound Sifft Electric Shamrocks 7-0, earning
#33 Mason Ireland a shutout as well! the boys all played great but the most exciting moment goes to our young gun
#14 Jared Smith, who
did not let size intimidate him as he got into the mix out front and managed to notch his 1st goal of the season with the big team! Way to go Jared!
With a good draw, we we're able to enjoy a great evening back at the hotel as we prepared to do battle with a strong Huntsville team, Saturday at noon in Humphrey. The boys got to know each other really well, as they prepared to do battle in the smallest dressing rooms we have ever seen. Flipped garbage cans and getting ready in waves helped get us game ready with no issues!
Hearing rumours that Huntsville was one of the two wagons in the tournament, Listowels 1st line went straight to work with
#12 Brendan Bradley starting things off, lighting the lamp 45 seconds in, assisted by
Ollie and
Max. Not to be outdone, less than a minute later,
Ollie put the game winner home. Not wanting to leave all the fun to the forwards
#17 Kohen Smith fired from the point to give Listowel some insurance which was further padded with a power play goal late in the third by
#4 Noah Contardi. Facing more shots than were seen by our team combined,
#1 Landon Montgomery. Managed to stand tall and limit the damage to 1 goal in this 4-1 win!
After some naps, a few snacks and a quick swim, Listowel faced the other hometown favourite; the Parry Sound Gibsons Homes Shamrocks, back at the Bobby Orr in Beautiful downtown Parry Sound)!
With a bit of a slow start, and with Parry Sound having the help of the home town crowd (plus their buddy "Joe"), Listowel seemed to have definitely met their match as a motivated Parry Sound team kept us off the board until
#11 Austin "Sturdy as an Oak" McIntosh planted himself and fired the first goal of the game as the first period wound down. Listowel had to battle for everything they got, but eventually
#7 Max Vasquez-Schalk got the game winner with
#4 Noah Contardi closing the scoring out with a power play goal in the third. Great work again by our goal tender,
#33 Mason Ireland, who shut the door, allowing only 1 goal against.
Heading to the hotel Saturday evening, the atmosphere was elevated, allowing for some cannonballs to be performed, cards thrown and cake consumed (care of Lillian Gutknecht turning the big 13!) with the knowledge that barring a blowout in the games Sunday morning, we would be heading to the finals Sunday afternoon!
As anticipated the semi-final game was a tight affair with the Huntsville Otters eventually besting the Almaguin Ice devils win a hard fought 3-1 victory; setting up a rematch between Listowel and our opponents in Blue and Gold.
Even in warmup, we could tell that these Otters were hear to play hard and avenge their loss to Listowel, earlier in the tournament. Both teams came out hard, playing a fast paced back and forth game, with Listowel showing their defensive dominance by backchecking hard in the neutral zone, thanks to the likes of
#3 Luke Hurst, and forcing most of the play to reside in the Otters end. Huntsville's Goalie #20 should be commended as he faced more rubber than a 400 series highway in the 1st. Eventually a crack was found as hard shooting
Brendan Bradley pounded one home!
The second period was more of the same with both teams giving up little ground, and playing a clean hard game. The effort level was cranked to 11, and moments we're tense, especially when both Smith's (Kohen and Jared) received minor penalties, nearly putting us in a 5 on 3 position save a bench minor for Huntsville care of our good old friend Joe. We managed to kill the penalties without issue allowing Jared Smith to breathe easily while he absorbed what I understand is his first ever penalty!
The final frame of this tournament did not disappoint as the Cycs continued to pressure Huntsville, coming at them in waves while the Otters, try as they might, could not hold listowel at bay any longer until
#12 Brendan Bradley notched the game winner and a minute later with less than 4 minutes left on the clock
#16 Sam Bartmann capitalized on a turnover firing a laser of a shot on a fantastic break away to seal the deal with an insurance goal.
#1 Landon Montgomery showed great form and quiet confidence in net, rising when called on, succumbing to only one blemish on the card in the middle of the second.
Congratulations to all the families and players that made this tournament a success both on and off the ice. The boys showed grit and determination in every game they played. We have a very self-less team that understands that defense is as important as offense, a pass can provide a shot and assists equate to goals. Be proud of these kids as they represented themselves, their team and their community well both on and off the ice!
Great work all!
Time to bear down as the Cyclones look to put a leash on the Minto Mad Dogs November 28th in palmerston! See you there.