The Novice Ice Sharks walked away proud from the Collingwood Blue Thunder Tournament last weekend.
Their first match up against the North Shore Hitmen started things off on the right foot The Ice Sharks came out a bit shaky but dug deep and put it together as the game progressed. Missing most of the game was Braeden McNaughton who was out early in the first with an injury. He would later recover and join the boys late in the third. The game final was 3-1 with a win for the Sharks. Nolan Regier was tenacious for-checking for the Sharks, and Zach Wall put 2 points up for the Sharks for the win.
The second match up was against Pete’s Sports Jr. All Stars. A match up that should have resulted in a close game for the Sharks, but the final was a 7-1 loss. The less said about that game the better! Coaches sent the boys home with lots to think about and a plan to have their game faces on for the next morning.
The North York Rangers were leading the tournament, undefeated as the Sharks matched up against this skilled team on Saturday morning. The strategy worked for the Sharks and all the boys had their best game faces on and played their best game of the season this morning. Fighting and battling hard against the highly skilled North York team, the Sharks were tied 1 a piece after the first period. Kayden Hogarth, Nathan Naves, Thomas Gangl, and Callum McMann were on fire as they attempted to set up scoring opportunities for the Sharks. The Rangers scored a goal in the third and were now leading. Max Newson was hot in the net and defence support from Kyle Dunn, Ethan Hewitt, and Jared De Winter resulted in critical checks throughout the game. In the last minutes of the game the goalie was pulled to make one last attack on the Rangers when a VERY questionable call came from the refs for too many men on the ice. The refs found it difficult to count to six, and after arguing the call, the Sharks were left with an undeserved penalty with 90 seconds left in the game. Another missed call by the refs put the Sharks down another player and the game ended with a 2-1 loss. All the coaches and parents agreed that this was the Shark’s season spectacular performance and a much improved performance from the previous afternoon.
The final match up was against Regional Express. The Sharks struck first leading 3-0. Dylan Kints was awesome in net and Mason Weber scored 2 this game for the Sharks. Dakota Coultes, Bobby Leis, Sam Young were an offensive threat this game playing hard on the boards for the Sharks. The boys learned that you cannot let up at this level of hockey, and in a short moment in the second period, the Express put 3 quick ones in the net. The tension in the arena was thick as the teams battled with no one scoring for the rest of the game. The 3-3 tie meant that the Express would move on to the semi-final and the Sharks tournament season would come to a close. A standing ovation from the parents as the players took their final bow to the stands.
The sharks have a fun exhibition game planned for Thursday June 2 in Stratford against the PSE Red squad. You can check out the action at 6:00 at the Stratford Rotary Complex.