‘United’ U11 A boys win gold at London preseason tourney

The Social Thirty-One U11 A Boys St. Marys Rock finished first at the London Jr. Mustangs Early Bird tournament Sept. 19-21. Pictured in the front row, from left to right, are Elliott Maddock, Ryan Pickel and Kyle Johnson. In the middle row, from left, are Jack Anderson, Rhett Parkinson, Ashton Ropp, Kai Sherwood, Bode Keller, Owen Simons, Tucker Posthumus, Logan Masselis, Nico Thompson, Everett Crummer, Lincoln Jennings and Myles Avey. In the back row, from left, are Mark Jennings, Jaden Ropp, Mike Johnson, Mitchell Watt and Scott Crummer. Not pictured were Fraser Anderson and Shawn Sherwood.

By Turner Roth

The Social Thirty-One U11 A Boys St. Marys Rock won gold at the London Jr. Mustangs Early Bird tournament Sept. 19-21.

Head coach Mike Johnson praised the boys for their excellent defence, offensive depth and ability to play as a unit.

“They played together better than any team in the tournament,” Johnson said. “They played as a unit of 15 players, the goalies shared the nets and supported each other, and that helped us win the key games we needed to win. Our defence has been working hard and adapting to the new obstacles being thrown at them. We had balanced scoring, with all three forward lines contributing when it mattered. All of that was key to our success.”

After going 1-2 in the three-game round-robin, the Rock’s semi-final game was against the South Oxford Storm – which finished the round-robin undefeated – in a game highlighted by strong defence and goaltending from both teams. South Oxford took the lead in the middle of the first period and held it until the start of the second, when St. Marys forward Kyle Johnson netted the Rock’s first goal of the game, assisted by Rhett Parkinson.

The third period continued the theme of defensive excellence as no goal was scored. It would take until the dying seconds of the second overtime period when Kyle Johnson fired the game-winning goal.

St. Marys then advanced to the gold-medal game against the Elgin Thames 73’s, a high-scoring affair that went into the first intermission with Elgin Thames ahead 2-1. Tucker Posthumus scored the lone goal of the opening period for the Rock.

Early in the second period, Ashton Ropp sparked the Rock as he made the game even at 2-2. Nico Thompson then scored the second goal of the period, giving the Rock a 3-2 lead. With just two minutes to go, Elgin Thames scored, tying the game once again at three apiece heading into the third.

The competitive clash was broken open in the third period, with the Rock finding their stride as Posthumus buried his second goal of the game. Owen Simons added a goal of his own, and Thompson also scored his second of the contest, assisted by Parkinson and Bode Keller. A late goal from Elgin Thames was too little too late as the Rock took the game 6-4 to win the gold medal.

Mike Johnson described what the tournament win means for this team.

“It was a really good way to start the season. Most of the kids on this team had gone through tough losses last year, losing in the finals in two tournaments by one goal. It was nice to pull one out and have them experience that feeling of a big win again. It was a great way to welcome some new players to the team and a great start to the season.”

Mike Johnson further credited his team’s intensity throughout the tournament.

“We have a broad mix of skill, with some really strong kids that win battles on the wall and net-front battles. The group as a whole has a lot of speed as they are really strong with those high-pressure forecheck battles. The defencemen are also really aggressive in the neutral zone, with forwards helping apply some pressure as well. The kids have been skating their butts off so far.

“I have really high hopes for us this season as a strong contender in most of the tournaments we go to,” Mike Johnson continued. “I think we should be contenders for the league title this year if the kids keep working with the tenacity and dedication they’ve had so far. I have no doubts it’s going to be a great year.”