Jan 10, 2023 | Greg Price | 151 views
Ice Dogs finish second in AEMHA tournament
a
The Ice Dogs hosted their own tournament on Saturday and invited top teams from the area to continue the hard work that will be needed heading into the second half of the season.
First game was against the Saugeen Shores Storm select team. This was the Storms team first games of the season, and they would be a hard checking team for sure. The Ice Dogs started a little flat in this early morning game, and the Storm fired the first 3 or 4 shots on net. The Ice Dogs slowly started to turn the tide and walked away with a 9-0 win. Goal scorers were Jesse P and Aden M each with 2, with singles going to Owen W, Bronson B, Landry W, Porter B and Conner B. Our defence played great and Adan S stopped all shots for the shutout. Landon S was selected as player of the game.
Second game was against a very solid opponent in the Georgian Shores Lightning. We just played this team in Silver Stick and it was a see saw battle right until the final buzzer. The Ice Dogs played a very safe first period against the Lightning as both teams seemed to be feeling each other out. Carter M broke the 0-0 tie with a hard-fought goal which is customary to his game. Bronson B put us up by 2 before the Lightning came back with 1. Then another goal by Carter M and two by Jeese P sealed the 5-2 win. Once again, our defence played great and Adan S was also very solid. Owen W took player of the game honors.
This put us in the A final championship game against an unknown opponent the South Huron Sabers. We had watched a few periods of this team in earlier games and they looked very disciplined and hard working. The Icedogs were down one of the best defensive centers in the league in this one as Conner B was nursing a very sore arm. And this caused some altering of lines and some players having to play in unfamiliar positions. But we never back down and came out flying as did the Sabers. This was back and forth hockey. Porter B sprung in early on a mini breakaway and hit the post, (this was to become a theme). The Sabers came back with some close chances of their own. After a goal mouth scramble the Sabers found a loose puck and 1-0 them after the first period. We came out of the first recess with, most of the momentum and Jesse P hitting a goal post and a crossbar in back to back shifts. Then Carter M rang one and a couple more glorious chances missed by us and the Sabers took advantage with a very nice shot top corner and 2-0 after 2. The injury to Conner B was starting to set in, and our team was running on fumes, and the Sabers turned up the intesity, but Aden S made save after save to keep the game close. A few more rushes by the Ice Dogs early in the third were turned away by their very BIG goalie and that was all we had left in the tank. They scored another goal mouth scramble goal to end the game 3-0 Sabers. They played very well and beat a very good team in our Ice Dogs. Nothing to be ashamed of, we gave it all we had right to the end. Adan S was selected as our player of the game as he kept us in it with many highlight reel saves.
Special thanks to Brent W and our tournament convenors Nicole R and Bill M for help setting this tournament up. And also, to all of our parents that helped make the day run smoothly and on time from start to finish. All of the kids from every team looked like they had fun and that's what it is all about.