U18 LL Boys take silver at Stonetown Classic

The St. Marys GMC U18 LL Boys St. Marys Rock claimed the silver medal at the Stonetown Classic tournament Jan. 15-18 in St. Marys. Pictured in the front row, from left to right, are Malaika Kibedi, Chase Jeffrey, Aiden De Vries, Adam Peachey, Will Jacobs, Rowan Pickel and Carter Innes. In the back row, from left, are head coach Joe Robson, assistant coach Shawn Oke, Connor McKichan, Brayden Barclay, Dylan Chateauvert, Tristan McIntosh, Peyton Wynands, Ben Robson, Logan Oke, Mac Hern, Gibson Agar, trainer Harry De Vries and assistant coach Dan McIntosh. Spencer Seymour photo

By Spencer Seymour

The St. Marys GMC U18 LL Boys St. Marys Rock earned the silver medal at the Jan. 15-18 Stonetown Classic tournament in St. Marys.

Head coach Joe Robson said the team made significant strides with each passing game.

“Our team felt like the underdog, particularly in the last three games,” said Robson. “Despite this, the boys showed significant improvements with each game, gaining confidence and playing more cohesively. They were making cleaner passes across the ice, opening up the rushing lanes, keeping the opposition to the outside of our defensive zone and generating better-quality scoring chances in the offensive zone.”

The Rock ended up second in their pool despite finishing with three losses in their three-game round-robin, but in the semi-final against the Strathroy Junior Rockets, the Rock was able to grind out a 2-1 victory to punch their ticket to the gold-medal game. St. Marys outshot Strathroy 34-20, and both of the Rock’s goals came early in the third, first off the stick of Peyton Wynands, followed by a goal from Will Jacobs.

According to Robson, the team’s lockdown defence led them to win the semi-final.

“This win was a thrilling moment, and the excitement was contagious. Having played Strathroy in our first regular-season game, which resulted in a tie, we knew we could play with them. There was some intimidation when looking at their earlier games in the tournament, as they had some solid wins, particularly against Mitchell, who has a very strong team. We had grown significantly as a team since that first meeting, so we went into it fresh and ready to play.

“We kept level heads and kept our game clean, allowing Strathroy to generate the majority of the game’s penalties,” Robson continued. “Our defensive play was very strong. We weren’t allowing their players or passes anywhere near the net. Almost all of their shots were from outside of the ringette line, and our guys were exceptionally good at repeatedly blocking their shots and taking control of the puck. Carter (Innes) played an incredible game, allowing only one goal on 20 shots. The                        Strathroy players were visibly frustrated.”

Robson added the team executed well on the key aspects of the game they had been working on going into the weekend, their special teams and their defensive structure.

“Going into the tournament, we had been working extensively on penalty kills and powerplays, and blocking the shooting lane in the defensive zone. This paid off significantly, particularly in our semi-final and final games. We look forward to continuing to build on this for the remainder of our season.”

Though the Rock couldn’t find another upset win in the championship contest against Ingersoll, Robson explained the value he hopes advancing to the final game of the tournament offers the group going forward.

“There is a great deal of pride making it to the finals in a hometown tournament in front of a large hometown crowd,” Robson told the Independent. “We are very proud of the solid effort these boys put forward and can’t wait to see how they perform going forward.”