U13 LL Boys Blue capture Stonetown Classic silver

The Easy Lift Doors U13 LL Boys St. Marys Rock earned the silver medal at the Stonetown Classic tournament Jan. 15-18. Pictured in the first row, from left to right, are Theo Shute, Daxton Thistle, Cole Devries, Harvey Terpstra, Talon Sampson, Jonathon Muhtar, Tristan Fraser and Franklin Anderson laying in front. In the back row, from left, are assistant coach Gavin Anderson, trainer Drew Corneil, Oscar Brown, Kyle McKichan, Owen Corneil,  Hudson Terpstra, Sheamus Ross, Brayden Rumble, Clark Monteith, assistant coach Harry Devries and head coach Eric Sampson. Spencer Seymour photo

By Spencer Seymour

The U13 LL Boys Blue St. Marys Rock took the silver medals at the Stonetown Classic tournament held in St. Marys Jan. 15-18.

Head coach Eric Sampson told the Independent his squad displayed an incredible cohesiveness and determination to win on home ice.

“The team really gelled together during this tournament,” said Sampson. “They were driven to show the hometown spirit by making everyone proud in such a deep run in the Stonetown Classic. There is nothing like heading to the finals to make your hometown proud. From a coach’s standpoint, when a team truly gels together and plays for each other, there aren’t many better feelings, in my opinion. Smiles were abundant all weekend, and that’s really what hockey is truly about.”

The Rock finished atop their pool after the three-game round-robin with two wins and a tie, setting them up for a semi-final clash against the Schomberg Red Wings. Sampson noted the team’s ability to blow by their defenders on the rush kept Schomberg agitated throughout the semi-final.

“Schomberg is a big team with a big goalie who covered a lot of the net,” Sampson said. “We fired the boys up in the dressing room, playing ‘Thunderstruck’ by AC/DC, and pushed them to come out strong like Midland did against us in the previous game, which also ended as a 3-3 tie. Schomberg was visibly frustrated as we kept using our speed to beat their defence wide like we had planned in our pre-game conversations.”

Sampson added there were several key performers to help the Rock come away with a 5-2 victory in the semis and earn a spot in the championship game.

“Clark (Monteith) led the way with a natural hat-trick in the first 20 minutes of the game. We gave specific tasks to our wingers to stand in the tough spots out front of the net. Kyle (McKichan), Owen (Corniel) and Talon (Sampson) braved the net-front presence and took a beating from Schomberg’s big defensive core. It was clear their big goalie wasn’t a fan right from the start, which enabled many rebounds and the added goals that followed by second efforts from Tristan (Fraser) and Sheamus (Ross) to put the nail in the coffin.”

Monteith scored his first of three straight goals just 14 seconds into the semis, scoring again a little over two-and-a-half minutes later, and then completing the natural hat-trick late in the second frame. Daxton Thistle and Oscar Brown assisted on Monteith’s third goal.

Fraser scored just 18 seconds into the third, assisted by Monteith, before Sheamus Ross one-timed home another insurance marker from a set play off the faceoff, with the assist going to Talon Sampson.

Against a high-powered Midland team in the gold-medal game, Franklin Anderson was the backbone in between the pipes, leading the Rock in an underdog battle, which saw the game tied at one apiece late in the third and St. Marys having several chances to score that just barely stayed out of the net. Midland eventually found the game-winner in overtime, giving the Rock the silver medal.

However, Eric Sampson noted there was nothing to be ashamed of for the Rock.

“Midland was the team to beat right from the start of the tournament. They had several strong wins and 18 goals in three games played. We knew we would have to play a tight game defensively and rely on our goalie, Franklin (Anderson), to stand on his head, which he did all game. They had 30-plus shots on goal with many scrambles out front of our net, one of which Hudson (Terpstra) had dug a puck off the goal line.

“The heart that all our boys showcased, coupled with the tenacity of our defensemen, really showed through,” added Eric Sampson. “Oscar (Brown), Jon (Muhtar), Cole (De Vries), Brayden Rumble and Hudson all proudly showed bruises from blocked shots after the game. Our forwards answered the coaches’ requests to backcheck harder than they ever had. Daxton (Thistle), Harvey (Terpstra) and Tristan (Fraser) showed wheels like never seen before by adding key-timed poke checks whilst backchecking during several of Midland’s rushes. Midland was great at finding open ice, but we managed to keep them to one goal headed into overtime.”

Eric Sampson credited his players’ resilience, saying he hopes the team gains a big confidence boost from their tournament result.

“They know they can play with the top teams. If they’re up against a tough opponent, they’ll come alive. We’ve aptly been nicknamed the ‘giant killers.’ There seems to be a deep-rooted drive within all of them, almost like they hate losing more than they like winning. They do their own research online these days with regards to how they compare to the team we are playing against, and if they find out the other team looks better on paper, they amp up and tell each other to ‘lock in.’ It’s a beautiful thing to watch from a coach’s perspective.”

Eric Sampson also stated the tournament being on home ice made the experience more special for the group.

“You could see the pride on all of their faces,” Eric Sampson said. “They did it for each other, they did it for the pride of the town and they did it to show what they’re all capable of. They share a competitive joy of being a team, and they share heart, pride and perseverance.”