Great Start for Minor Midget A Team
The St. Thomas Jr. Stars participated in the 38th Essex Annual Earlybird Tournament over the past weekend. It was a very nice team bonding weekend with some wonderful hockey games played by our own players & opponents of the Minor Midget A & AA teams.
Every player worked very hard and played so well throughout all 4 games of the tournament with a record of 3 undefeated shut-out wins & a loss in shoot-out. They earned a pretty nice 16.5 points after winning all 3 games.
This accomplishment guaranteed the St. Thomas Stars a first place spot in their pool(A pool); 5.5 points ahead of the 2nd placed team(Essex Ravens). In the end, the Stars came short with a loss to Windsor Spitfires AA(B pool) in shoot-out. It caused the Stars a chance of playing for the Championship.
The guys were tested in their first game against Belle River Jr. Canadians AA on Friday afternoon. Despite some rough body contacts from the opponents, our players have tried their best to stay disciplined and played a clean game as they have been trained so. The Stars came out with a victory of 3-0.
The team were pumped and were eager to play the second game much later that same day against the hosted team Essex Ravens. Another rough game in body checking as expected by coaching staff, players and families. As always, with their goal of winning with minimal of penalties, the Minor Midget Stars kept pushing through every minute of the period of the game. In the end, the Stars were able to pull off another win with a shut-out game of a score of 2-0 (1 from empty net).
Walking in their third game against Amhertsburg on Saturday afternoon, the Stars somewhat felt more relaxed. They focused on a different goal this time around of saving their energies for game four later that same night known that they would have a chance to play for the Championship game on Sunday. They won 4-0; a third shut-out game. The game wasn't as excited to watch as all other games the Stars played over the two days.
Getting ready for game #4, the St. Thomas Stars were well aware the strength of their opponents Windsor Spitfires AA. It was the most compatible & a very intense game to watch. Both teams played so well, especially the St. Thomas Stars. They set the bar by scoring during first period. This record sure put pressure on the opponents. Both teams kept up the fast pace throughout all periods. The goal scored just didn't stay in favour for neither team long before it got tied up back & forth between two teams. The St. Thomas Stars & Windsor Spitfires sure showed that they all wanted to go to the championship game & they had most of the fans on their feet and ended the regulations with a tied score of 3-3. This tied score stayed the same even after the five minutes overtime. It forced both teams to go to shoot-out round.
Although the Jr. Stars didn't bring home any medal, the coaches and their families are very proud of how well each Star played and managed to keep the penalties at minimal as possible. They also had a special team bonding time together over the weekend. Nicely done guys!!
Go Stars Go !!