Brant Battalion U13A make statement at CCM Nations Cup in Detroit

Members of the U13A Battalions include (in no order) Shelton Lerno, Carter Loucks, Nick Scocchia, Hudson Collins, Blake Borden, Maddox Porter, Mason Field, Kieran Patel, Ollie Crouch, Simon Young, Tucker Vanfleet, Will Schoeman, Blake Stanley, Max Bloomfield, Emmett Cooper, Emmitt Kloepfer, and Nash Young-Badanjak. 

Casandra Turnbull

Managing Editor 

The Brant Battalion U13A squad turned heads south of the border late last month, rattling off four straight wins at the CCM Nations Cup in Detroit before bowing out in Sunday’s semifinal.

The international tournament, which ran Nov. 28-30, featured youth hockey teams from across the United States and Canada battling for national pride in divisions from 9U to 14U. The tournament format featured a round robin schedule followed by a seeding, with North America (Canadian) teams playing United States teams on tournament’s final day.

Brant opened strong Friday afternoon with a 6-0 shutout over the Aviators Kunkle of Pennsylvania before closing out Day 1 with a 5-2 win against the Rockford Rams of Michigan. The momentum carried into Saturday, where the Battalion posted a 5-1 decision over the Lakeland Hawks and followed up with a 5-3 victory against Belle Tire, both Michigan-based clubs.

The team’s unbeaten run came to an end on Sunday, falling 5-2 to the Port Huron Flags. Despite the loss, North America won the tournament in overall points, meaning Brant helped secure the gold for Canada.

Head coach Tyler Cooper said the weekend was a breakthrough moment for a team that entered Detroit searching for confidence.

“This was a tremendous effort by our boys! As a team who entered the tournament with one win all season, to rattle off four in a row while representing your country is a great accomplishment and has an extra sense of pride tied to it,” Cooper said.

Wearing the Team Canada jersey brought added motivation, he added.

“There’s a certain element of pride that comes along with pulling that Team Canada sweater over your head, and our boys took great pride in that.”

Cooper credited the team’s success to disciplined play in their own zone and contributions throughout the lineup.

“Success in hockey always starts from the back end,” he said. “From our fantastic goaltending, to our shutdown defence and hard back-checking forwards. We defended successfully as a team and that was a key contribution to our success in Detroit.”