Midget A Season Ends Early
Submitted By dvandenbroek on Tue 01 28, 14
Last weeks OMHA playdown hopes ended with a disappointing shootout loss in the final game of the tournament style format hosted by Amherstburg. With little to play for the boys ended their season in Brantford last night with the game ending in a 3-3 tie.
The playdowns started out with a convincing win over the always tough opponent and the number 2 seed of the tournament Southpoint. The game slow to get going as both teams didn't want to allow the first goal and when the Stars opened the scoring their was no looking back. They added 4 powerplay goals and the game ended in a 5-0 win. The next opponent was the number 1 seeded Amherstburg and the winner of this game would advance to the 6 point series to begin the following week against the winner of the second elimination game. The stars came out strong and at one point in the game had a 3-1 lead, but the home team came back strong to eventually win 6-3. The final elimination game was a hard fought battle and for the most part the our guys dominated the play. The game would go to overtime where we outshot our opponent 10-1 and could not end this battle. We eventually lost in a shootout and the hopes of getting a chance to meet with Amherstburg in a six point series disappeared. The boys played very well and unfortunately did not advance, I'm sure they could have made some noise had they moved on.
With OMHA playdowns behind them they had 4 more regular season games left to play. The first against Woodstock on the road where they skated to a 4-2 win. The next game ended in a 5-5 tie against the London Nationals with an exciting finish as we scored with 3.6 seconds left on the clock after adding the extra attacker and battling to the end. The next game on Sunday was not pretty. The score after 2 was 3-1 against the number 1 team in the league, London Junior Knights and the third period flood gates opened for an eventual 8-1 loss. The final game for the Stars and for 3 players (Vandy, Woody and Shawsy(injured) this would be it for their minor hockey career, was last night and again in dramatic fashion the boys tied 3-3 with a late tying goal with our net empty to end on somewhat of a positive note.
This year saw plenty of contribution from all players, some with finesse, some with pure brut strength, solid defensive abilities, solid goaltending and good coaching throughout the year. Players achieving a 20 point plus season are Robert Shaw with 21 points, 5 goals, 16 assists, Derek Folkard with 38 points, 21 goals, 17 assists, Ryan Vandenbroek with 45 points, 13goals, 32 assists, Josh Reda 47 points, 32 goals, 15 assists and this years leader in point was Jesse Tottle with 56 points, 23 goals, 33 assists. Great season to all.
Lastly a big Thank-you to the coaches and staff. Digs and Tottle have done great deal for these boys and they have a ton of respect for you. Mike Butler and Mike Folkard have dedicated a lot of time to help with this team and your time is very much appreciated. Lastly to Jodie Turley who's communication and organization makes it simple for the rest of us organizing our hockey calenders. Thanks to the boys for entertaining your parents all year long and good luck in your future hockey.