U11 LL Boys Blue take second at Aylmer Silver Stick

By Spencer Seymour

The Nicholson Concrete U11 LL Boys Blue St. Marys Rock left the Aylmer Silver Stick tournament held Nov. 15-17 with the silver medals after an incredibly strong weekend-long performance.

During group play, St. Marys went a perfect three-for-three, beating Aylmer Red, Thamesford Green and Tillsonburg. Elliott Maddock earned his fourth shutout of the season, supported by strong play by Maverick Akins, Brayden Rumble, Hudson Terpstra, Aiden Hibbert, Owen Barker and Harvey Terpstra.

The Rock also had numerous players record multi-goal games, including Sheamus McCutcheon, Clark Montieth, Jaxson Arn, Talon Sampson, Caxton Stewart-Noeske and Daxton Thistle.

The unbeaten round-robin record put St. Marys in a semi-final clash against Thamesford Yellow and they came away with a 6-3 win to earn a spot in the championship final. Head coach Eric Sampson told the Independent the semis was a high point in the team’s year so far.

“This was our most well-rounded game this season,” said Sampson. “All of our players stepped up in terms of how good their positional play and support for their teammates in tight battles were. It was a really good team game.”

Sampson also noted the team’s tenacious hounding of the puck and their opponents was a major factor in their offensive output, crediting Cohen Faulhafer, Bryson Nairn, Jack McArthur and Elliot Cociu for pressuring Thamesford into making mistakes the Rock was able to capitalize on.

In the final game, St. Marys faced Aylmer Black in a high-scoring battle that was deadlocked 5-5 at the end of regulation. After a five-minute, four-on-four overtime frame and a subsequent three-on-three overtime period solved nothing, the game entered a shootout that lasted for 10 rounds until Aylmer finally scored the deciding goal.

Although describing the loss in the final game as a “heart-breaker,” Sampson said he was incredibly pleased with his team’s performance throughout the weekend.

“The coaches and parents may have aged during the final game,” Sampson joked, “but the boys absolutely played their hearts out. They believe in each other. To go the distance on such a large stage this early in the season speaks volumes about how hard they are willing to push each other towards a common goal. I’ve never seen a team gel this well so early in a season. They’re a special group and I feel like there’s more where that came from this year.”