U9 MD Boys win double-overtime gold at Aylmer tourney

The Finnbilt Construction U9 MD Boys St. Marys Rock earned the top prize at the U9 Full-Ice Tournament Feb. 7-9 in Aylmer. Pictured laying on the ice, from left to right, are Everett Douglas and Jack Becker. In the second row, from left, are Ben Hemstock, Jackson Monisit-Brown, Zac Bes and Carter Van Wieren. In the third row, from left, are Landon McIntosh, McLean Ross, Max Bilyea, Ryker Harrison and Jacob Zwambag. In the back row, from left, are Dan McIntosh, Rod Harrison, Mark Ross and Chris Van Wieren.

By Spencer Seymour

The Finnbilt Construction U9 MD Boys St. Marys Rock captured the gold medal at the U9 Full-Ice Tournament in Aylmer Feb. 7-9 in thrilling fashion.

The Rock advanced to the gold-medal game by winning a must-win contest against the East Elgin Attack in the final round-robin match-up for both teams. Heading into the game, St. Marys sat with a 2-1 record, while East Elgin was a perfect 3-0. The Rock turned in a very strong showing en route to taking a 4-1 win and setting the stage for a rematch between the two teams in the championship game.

Head coach Rodney Harrison credited his squad for rising to the pressure of the fourth and final round-robin game.

“It was a must-win for us and we carried the play for a lot of the game,” Harrison told the Independent. “Our team was really aggressive on the forecheck and took East Elgin's players’ time and space away. Their goalie played really well because we certainly had enough chances to score a few more goals.”

In the final, East Elgin took a 1-0 lead with under two minutes left in the opening period. However, a full-line effort found the tying goal before the period was done, starting with MacLean Ross and Carter Van Wieren forcing the Attack’s shooters to the outside, which created a board battle that Jacob Zwambag won with support from Ryker Harrison.

The successful battle along the wall allowed the Rock to clear the puck out of their zone, and just moments later at the other end of the ice, Ben Hemstrock banged home a rebound to tie the game at one apiece in the dying moments of the first.

Landon McIntosh and Zac Bes did some fantastic work on the penalty kill, while Jackson Monisit Brown created a glorious scoring chance late in the third. St. Marys’ goaltenders, Everett Douglas and Jack Becker, each turned in excellent efforts throughout the weekend.

Despite their great performance, the Rock couldn’t solve the East Elgin netminder in regulation, with the game going into four-on-four overtime. Without a winning goal, the game then entered three-on-three overtime, where Harrison fired a long-range point shot that found a way into the back of the Attack’s net to win the game 2-1 for St. Marys.

The goal came after some outstanding backchecking by Van Wieren and Max Bilyea that created an outlet pass for Harrison which didn’t quite connect. However, a second impressive play by Bilyea to win a battle along the boards in the neutral zone to take control of the puck ultimately got the puck to Harrison for the game-winner.

According to Harrison, the team’s resolve and overall effort, especially with the group down Callum Parker and Brody Pearson due to illnesses, helped win the game.

“The work ethic and never-give-up attitude these players have on this team are special. Being a smaller-roster team, everyone has a job and missing two players of the team is tough, but our guys rallied and worked hard as a team. For the nine skaters and two goalies we had to battle that hard for each other, and for the two guys unable to play, is a proud coaching moment for me and the rest of the coaches. The way they dealt with the highs and lows emotionally, mentally and physically is good for their growth as individuals and as a team.”