U12 A Boys win gold at St. Catharines tournament

The St. Marys Building Centre U12 A Boys St. Marys Rock won gold at the Warriors Tournament in St. Catharines March 20-22. Pictured in the front row, from left to right, are Nathan Walt, Ryland Urquhart, Rylan Lord, Cooper Sass and Leo Furtney. In the middle row, from left, are Greyson Eeley, Dean Feeney, Finnley Harburn, Karson Garrett, Kane Douglas, Marcus Stuckless, Cameryn Stokes, Jakob Kittmer and Jaxon Wittig. In the back row, from left, are head coach Brent Kittmer, assistant coach Jared Stokes, trainer Ben Douglas and assistant coach Brayden Lord. Not pictured were Anderson Murrah, Alec Harlton and assistant coach Adam Zurbrigg.

By Spencer Seymour

The St. Marys Building Centre U12 A Boys St. Marys Rock captured the top prize at the Warriors Tournament in St. Catharines March 20-22.

Head coach Brent Kittmer told the Independent the team delivered well-rounded play throughout the weekend.

“For me, (the story of the tournament) was consistency, a balanced attack and good team defence and goaltending,” said Kittmer. “Overnight tournaments are a marathon where you are trying to balance being competitive but still letting the players have fun. It typically means you have later nights and some tired legs. In both of our games on Friday, we looked a little tired to start, and naturally nervous because each game means something.”

Kittmer added the team received contributions up and down the lineup all weekend.

“In five games, we had 10 different goal scorers with different individuals stepping up each game and when we needed a goal most. I thought our defence played well all weekend and limited the number of shots and scoring chances we allowed. And whenever we did give up a shot, or there was a high-danger chance, our goalie, Nathan (Walt), was there to make the save.

“Nathan played all five games because Anderson (Murray) wasn’t available,” Kittmer continued. “I can’t imagine the pressure Nathan felt knowing he was the only goalie and had to play all five. Throughout the weekend, he made a number of sacrifices to stay rested and ready, and his play in the games was amazing.”

St. Marys went undefeated through the five-game tournament, which saw the top teams from a four-game round-robin meet in the gold-medal game. While the Rock picked up three wins, Kittmer was most impressed by their effort in their one tie of the round-robin.

“In round-robin play, we felt our Saturday morning game against the Haldimand River Kings was going to be our most important because we knew they were a very competitive team that had a good chance to make the finals. That game was our best in round-robin play, and the players came out right from the start with a pace that dictated the play. Although the game ended 1-1, we felt that we outplayed and out-chanced Haldimand.”

The tie also made Haldimand’s road to the finals much more difficult, as they had lost a game on the first day of the tournament.

The Rock met the Burlington Jr. Raiders in the finals, with Kittmer noting the group overcame exhaustion to deliver another strong showing.

“It was a typical final where the players were fighting nerves and tired legs from the previous two days,” Kittmer said. “From the start of the game, we dictated the pace of play and were doing a great job of hemming them in, but they were able to get a goal on a broken play to go up 1-0. The players did a great job of not allowing that to affect them, stuck with their game and we were able to tie it up before the end of the first.”

Kane Douglas netted the first-period equalizer for the Rock, followed by a strong individual effort by Finn Harburn to rush the puck to the net and bang in his own rebound, giving the Rock a 2-1 lead less than a minute into the second.

“After that, I was very impressed with how the players shifted to a defensive mindset, took away Burlington’s time and space, and really gave them very few opportunities to get into a good scoring location,” said Kittmer. “There were definitely a few tense sequences, but Nathan (Walt) was always there to make the save.”

Midway through the third, Cam Stokes put home a rebound after a point shot by Jake Kittmer to make it 3-1 in St. Marys’ favour. Stokes then buried his second of the game less than three minutes later, poking a sliding puck through the Burlington netminder’s legs, to increase the Rock’s lead to three goals and ultimately seal a 4-1 victory.

According to the head coach, the Rock’s tenacity made it harder and harder for the Raiders to catch up as the game progressed.

“By the midpoint of the third, our strong play was starting to wear Burlington down,” Brent Kittmer said. “As was the story through the weekend, the ability of the players to keep their level of play consistent through the game and wear Burlington down, combined with good team defence and goaltending, is what ultimately made the difference.”

Brent also credited affiliate player Alex Harlton for stepping up admirably and giving the team high-quality minutes all tournament.

“Alex stepped in earlier this year to help the team out when we had injuries and sicknesses. Alex once again helped us this weekend in our round-robin games as we had players recovering from illness, and she played incredible as she always does.”

The tournament marked a high point for the Rock, which has fought hard through an up-and-down season, with Brent Kittmer having high praise for the team’s development and character.

“This team is a great group of kids,” Brent Kittmer said. “They are one of the best dressing rooms that I’ve been part of, where the laughs, positivity and camaraderie take top priority. They’ve had a great year where everyone has developed, and ending the season with a tournament win was the reward that they deserved after having stayed positive through the difficult stretches in the season.

“This year, we had a number of new players on the roster, and people playing new positions. It took them some time to gel on the ice and play as a team. In the last six weeks of the season, they really started to click and play as a team, and their level of consistency increased. In my view, we started playing our best hockey at the right time and got a tournament win for it.”