The ’97 Ice Sharks started out their Spring tournament schedule with an impressive weekend at the Regional Express tournament, making it to the finals.Hard work, strong goaltending, and a commitment to be defensively responsible, were the keys to getting through the round robin and semi-finals.
In the first game, the Ice Sharks beat the Might Ducks by a score of 7-2. The Sharks attack was well balanced, with each line scoring a pair of goals. Also, defenseman Garrett McFadden chipped in, with a Bobby Orr’esk, end to end rush.
Game two was against the Bad Boys from Toronto, a team that beat the Sharks by a couple goals, last year. Knowing this would be a tough game that could make or break our chance of playing on Sunday; the Sharks were very focused and prepared to play a well balanced game. Taking an early lead and controlling the game, enabled the Sharks to post a 4-2 victory.
In the third game of the round robin, the team may have perhaps gotten ahead of themselves, with thoughts of playing in the Sunday championships. The Edge got out to an early lead, and was able to maintain it, handing the Sharks a 4-3 loss. The Edge is a strong team; however the Ice Sharks showed little desire to compete, and paid the price.
This set up a must win situation for game #4, versus the Hockey Hi-Lites (Thunder). The Sharks worked hard throughout the game, limiting the opponents scoring opportunities, and posted a 3-0 victory. Luke Schmaltz picked up the shutout for the Sharks.
In Sunday morning’s semi-finals, the Sharks came up against the Regional Blue squad that plays a very defensive style of game. Throughout the round robin they tied three games and won once, never allowing an opponent to score more than 2 goals. Through a hard fought battle, the Sharks managed a 1-0 victory, and the right to move to the finals. Both teams had some great scoring opportunities, and both teams had solid goaltending. Aaron Johnson picked up the shutout for the Sharks.
The championship game started out as a tightly contested battle in the first period. The Sharks control a majority of the play and had golden opportunities to get on the board, but could not beat the Regional Gold goaltender. The first period ended with the Gold leading 1-0. In the second period the Sharks started to get frustrated and began making unnerving mistakes, which lead to a 4-0 Gold lead.
The final score/outcome of the championship game was not a pleasing result. However, beating some highly ranked teams and making it the finals of the prestigious Regional Express tournament, is a great accomplishment for the ’97 Ice Sharks. We look forward to seeing the Sharks compete in Sarnia next weekend.