U11 A Boys capture gold at Peterborough tournament

The Social Thirty-One U11 A Boys St. Marys Rock won the gold medal at the Peterborough Liftlock Atom Tournament Jan. 9-11. Pictured in the front row, from left to right, are Elliot Maddock, Nico Thompson, Lincoln Jennings, Kai Sherwood and Ryan Pickel. In the second row, from left, are Owen Simons, Myles Avey, Ashton Ropp, Kyle Johnson, Tucker Posthumus, Everett Crummer, Jack Anderson, Rhett Parkinson, Logan Masselis and Bode Keller. In the back row, from left, are assistant coach Mark Jennings, trainer Scott Crummer, head coach Mike Johnson, assistant coach Jaden Ropp and assistant coach Mitch Watt. Contributed photos

By Turner Roth

The Social Thirty-One U11 A Boys St. Marys Rock took home the gold from the Peterborough Atom Liftlock tournament Jan 9-11.

Head coach Mike Johnson praised the team’s effort throughout the weekend, noting the group delivered some of their best hockey of the year.

“I think that the tie against Ottawa in the round-robin and our win against Barrie in the semi-finals were two of the best games we’ve played all season,” said Johnson. “It was really good competition, and the kids rose to it and played really good hockey the way we’ve been asking them to play. We executed things well and just played the game the right way. We kept moving our feet, moving the puck and playing a simple game.”

In the semi-final game against the Barrie Colts, the Rock showed their ability to fight back, going down by a goal twice in the second period before clawing back to steal the 3-2 win. Lincoln Jennings, Everett Crummer and Bode Keller had the goals for St. Marys.

Johnson praised the team’s ability to keep the intensity up and stay in it with Barrie.

“We came out of the gate amazing. We had them hemmed in their end for most of the first period. The kids played great and we just couldn’t buy a goal. Barrie scored the first goal, but we didn’t waver and just kept the pedal down and battled back hard. Once we got that one-goal lead, the kids really focused on staying on the right side of the puck, winning battles and playing smart, simple hockey to close out the game.

“In moments like that, it’s really impressive to see them show that mental toughness,” Johnson continued. “We’re constantly working with them on focus, accountability and staying on point. They are 10 years old, and at times it wavers, but in those big moments, they find ways to rise and battle through.”

The bench boss added the moments of adversity are galvanizing the group as they look forward to the most important games of the season.

“It teaches them to play and battle those pre-game jitters, those frustration moments and execute when they’re tired,” Johnson said. “It’s all about getting them ready for hopefully a good playoff drive, and ultimately, a trip to the OMHA (Ontario Minor Hockey Association) Championships. That’s our team’s goal is to be ready when the moment is the biggest. All these little tests along the way are putting these kids into situations where they can start to learn a little bit about themselves and how to respond to tough and stressful moments and be ready to perform when things aren’t necessarily always perfect.”

In the finals, the Rock played the Ausable Valley Coyotes. Both teams were tired and exhausted from the hockey they had played up to that point, and the fun nights at the resort. It was a game where both teams started out flat, but eventually St. Marys took over the game.

“It was a pretty slow game, but we were able to capitalize on a few bounces. Our goalie played great and didn’t let anything by him, which really helped because I was a little worried, if something had gone in at the wrong time, whether we would have had that same resilience in the moment.

“It’s a historic tournament; it’s been around for a long time. Wayne Gretzky won that tournament, and this is the last year it’s running, so we kept the kids amped up. That trophy might end up in the Hockey Hall of Fame someday, and this might be their pathway there, and that was their rallying cry for the weekend, and it worked.”

Crummer opened the scoring with 38 seconds left in the first before Kai Sherwood and Kyle Johnson scored a minute and a half apart in the second, en route to a 3-0 victory to claim the gold medal. Ryan Pickel turned in a shutout performance in between the pipes.

According to Mike Johnson, the whole team displayed a commitment to a system of winning hockey.

“We are deep top to bottom. There are no gaps in our roster. We’ve got great goaltending, strong defence and good forwards. We are able to just roll kids over the boards, outskate a lot of teams and we have a lot of talent out there. The kids can create things when they need to and create plays with each other, so we’re a tough team to play against. When we really commit to a good forecheck and an aggressive system, we just smother teams, and they can’t get anything going against us.

“I really think this weekend was about what the team accomplished,” Mike Johnson added. “We had good goaltending when we needed it and you’re never going to win without that, but there were no big individual performances. Really, it was about a group of 15 kids executing a structure and committing to playing the same way together, and when they did that, they were unbeatable.”