U9 LL Boys Blue capture silver at year-end tourney

The St. Marys Ford U9 LL Boys Blue St. Marys Rock claimed the silver medal at the Lambton-Middlesex Local League (LMLL) U9 Year-End Invitational Tournament April 10-12. Pictured in front is Everett Boyer. Pictured in the middle row, from left to right, are Rowan Nairn, Jacob Richardson, Ryerson Sommerville, Cohen Davies, Hunter Hodgson, and Ethan Robertson. In the back row, from left, are Bentley Mitchell, Owen Gropp, Bentley McDonald, Garrett Feeney, Carter May, Hunter Whetham, and Matthew Parkinson. Not pictured was Russell Ward.

By Spencer Seymour

The St. Marys Ford U9 LL Boys Blue St. Marys Rock earned the silver medal at the Lambton-Middlesex Local League (LMLL) U9 Year-End Invitational Tournament April 10-12.

According to head coach Ryan Hodgson, the message at the beginning of the tournament was all about treating it as a blank canvas.

“Our conversation going into the tournament was it a fresh start,” explained Hodgson. “Facing some adversity through the season after making the transition to full ice, our team had a tough time getting some wins under their belts. This tournament was a chance for them to wipe the slate clean and focus on the tournament and the next few games at hand.”

The Rock got their first win of the four-game round-robin in their second game of the weekend, a 6-1 victory over the Thamesford Attack. Carter May and Hunter Whetham each scored a pair of goals, with Owen Gropp and Ethan Robertson each adding individual goals for St. Marys.

Hodgson said the team was focused on playing a complete game against Thamesford.

“The message in this game was to keep fighting,” Hodgson remarked. “The game prior, our boys got a little comfortable with the lead we had in the third period, which led to that game ending in a tie, and we would have to play a full game if they wanted to win this time. Our team was able to dominate this game with a 6-1 win.”

In their third game of the round-robin, they delivered, in Hodgson’s eyes, one of their best games of the entire season, eventually winning 9-0 over the East Lambton Eagles.

It was those two wins that really propelled the Rock to coming away with a medal.

“Our second and third games were where the energy on our bench seemed to change. After losing the lead in our first game that led to a tie, the message was that we needed to play the full game, and the team responded. When we got the lead, we urged the boys to keep pushing and not to be comfortable with a lead. With each goal, the boys found more confidence and a renewed positive energy.

“Everyone was contributing,” Hodgson continued. “Whether it was some great saves from our goalie, some great defensive plays or some great offensive plays that led to us dominating those second and third games.”

In their 9-0 win, Gropp exploded for four goals, while Robertson and Bentley Mitchell scored twice, and May had one.

Although they fell in their final round-robin game and the gold medal contest, both to the Belmont Rangers, Hodgson noted the tournament was still a great showing by his squad.

“Our last two games didn’t really go our way, but I do want to emphasize how, during the round-robin, our team really came together and were doing all the small things that the coaches had worked on throughout the year; clearing the puck out of our end, using the boards to clear the puck, hustling to get back on defence, passing the puck to work together on offence, and going to the net with your stick on the ice. The boys really bought into playing together to build up some wins in the round-robin.”

The bench boss added there was no shortage of strong individual efforts as well.

“Ryerson (Sommerville) was able to tuck in his first full-ice goal in our game against Lucan, a great reward for his hard work this season,” Hodgson said. “Everett (Boyer) played great for us all tournament and even got a shutout in our 9-0 game.

“Our team rotated players through defence this year to teach the importance of playing both sides of the puck, much to the dismay of our 15 centremen. Hunter (Hodgson), Hunter (Whetham), Matthew (Parkinson), Bentley (McDonald), and Cohen (Davies) played some great defence for us during the tournament.”

Hodgson added it was a positive result to come away with the second-place prize to end their season.

“There were some heavy hearts after the boys’ last game when they weren’t able to secure the gold. However, getting silver was a representation of all the hard work and effort the boys put into the practices and games, and it is nice to see them get rewarded.”