U15AA Warriors win gold at Waterloo tournament

The U15AA Stratford Junior Warriors took the gold medal at the Waterloo Memorial Tournament Nov. 15-17. Pictured laying on the ice from left to right are Max Weber and Mac Munro. Standing, from left, are trainer Donna Martin, goalie coach Mark Duchesne, Nick McGill, Colton Campbell, Liam Micks, Daxton Verspeeten, Cohen Bowles, Luke Hishon, Calling Howson, Caleb Hurley, Parker Obre, Tyler Burtenshaw, Ryan Watling, Ryder Duchesne, Caleb Pennings, Saunder Degraauw, Owen Martin, coach Ethan Adair and coach Drew Goebel.

The U15AA Stratford Junior Warriors captured the gold medal at the Waterloo Memorial Tournament Nov. 15-17.

Coach Drew Goebel explained how the tournament victory was the payoff from the team’s recent revitalization.

“Winning gold in Waterloo was a feather in our cap in terms of some major progression we’ve been making over the past couple of weeks,” Goebel told the Times. “A few weeks ago, we all came together to have some honest conversations about the kind of team that we were and how we could reach our potential, and since then, we’ve really come together as a team. We’ve stuck to our gameplan and this gold medal highlighted the three words of hard work and commitment to one another.”

According to Goebel, the team’s recent improvements stem from simplifying their game.

“We want our boys to play simple hockey and to play as a group. To us, it means sticking to the gameplan and making things easier on ourselves by focusing on some of the fundamentals. We’ve found that we’re at our best when we get the puck down low, work our cycle game and create offence from there. When we do those things, we seem to get the results.”

After going undefeated in the four-game round-robin, the Junior Warriors defeated the host Waterloo Wolves by a final score of 4-0 in the semi-final. Ryder Duchesne and Luke Hishon each scored a pair of goals, while netminder Mac Munro earned the shutout in between the pipes.

Goebel said the team’s excellent goaltending was a main factor throughout the weekend.

“Our goaltenders were great all tournament long. They made a number of saves for us when it mattered and we needed them to. Mac (Munro) started the semi-final for us and shut the door against a very good Waterloo team. That was the host team and a team we play during the regular season who has given us a tough challenge in the past, so we knew they wouldn’t be easy to beat. When your goaltender plays the way Mac did in the semis and you get a full team effort in the offensive zone, those elements allowed us to not only win the semi-final but also have plenty of gas left for the final.”

Stratford met the Glancaster Bombers in the gold-medal game, and with goals by Caleb Hurley and Caleb Pennings, along with another stellar performance in goal, this time by Max Weber, the Junior Warriors came away with a 2-1 win to take the tournament’s top spot.

“We’re really proud of the guys and how they came together,” said Goebel. “Glancaster was a true test for us. We had a number of players who were a bit under the weather and had to dig deep and push through. Again, we got some great goaltending, this time from Max (Weber), who played an unbelievable game and made several game-winning saves to keep us in it.”

Goebel also praised the team for its cohesiveness, which has grown along with the group’s newly revamped structure and mindset.

“We are a really close group. All of our coaches and players spend so much time at the rink with each other because we all like spending time together, top to bottom. When you can create that kind of bond, play the game you love and have some success along the way, it can really help moving forward towards our goals.

“Our message every game is you must build from the ground up. Every game, no matter how things went the last time you were on the ice, you’re starting fresh. When you start stringing together some positive results, you can feel momentum building and confidence growing. Considering the team conversation we had a few weeks ago, getting a result like this is really rewarding for the group.”