Nov 12, 2018 | twelychkasr | 512 views
Novice A Tigers Finalists in Orillia Tournament
The Welland Mike Knapp Ford Novice 'A' Tigers advanced to another tournament final this weekend in Orillia, however came up just short of the championship.
The Tigers opened the weekend with a tough loss to Port Stanley 7-4. The Tigers bounced back with three straight wins, 10-0 over the Orillia Terriers, 6-0 over North Durham Warriors and 5-2 over league rival Grimsby Kings.
The Tigers once again faced Port Stanley in the finals, but lost a close, hard fought game 5-2 in the Championship.
The Tigers opened the tournament against a strong Port Stanley Sailor club. Welland came out slow and found themselves behind after the opening minute of the game. The Tigers were caught off guard by a strong Port Stanley attack where Welland had difficulty getting out of their own zone. After the first two periods Welland found themselves down 6-1. The Tigers battled hard in the 3rd period to make a game, but finished with a 7-4 loss to open the tournament.
The Tigers faced off against tournament hosts Orillia in game 2, and Welland found their scoring touch. The Tigers spent most of the game in the Orillia end, and managed to score a total of 10 goals over the course of 3 periods. The offence was balanced across all three lines who all contributed to the win.
In game 3 Welland faced the North Durham Warriors. Once again Welland was strong at both ends of the ice and spent a lot of time in the offensive zone. Welland had numerous scoring chances, and managed to capitalize on six of them coming away with a 6-0 victory.
In the final round robin game, Welland faced off against their own league rivals, Grimsby Kings. This game was a back a forth game which saw Welland jump out to a 1-0 lead, which was quickly tied by Grimsby. Welland once again took the lead later in the second period, however Grimsby once again tied the game 2-2. Welland came out strong in the 3rd period however could not find the back of the net due to good goal tending on the Grimsby end. Welland finally got the edge after a breakaway goal put the Tigers up with about 4 minutes left to play. Welland didn't hold back and managed to score 2 more late goals on their way to a 5-2 victory and a birth in the Championship game.
In the Finals Welland once again had to face a strong and talented Port Stanley team. Welland came out strong and combined a strong for-check with a solid defensive effort in the opening period. Welland jumped out to a 1-0 lead midway through the opening frame. Welland managed to hold the lead until late in the 1st when Port Stanley tied the game 1-1. the second period saw much more back a forth chances however Port Stanley managed to find the back of the net twice and Welland only once. The score was 3-2 going into the 3rd period. Welland battled hard in the third but came up short in their comeback effort. Port Stanley managed to score 2 more third period goals which saw the final result end 5-2.
The coaches are very proud of all the players for their hard work and positive attitude during the tournament. All of the players battled hard to the final whistle of the tournament and should be proud of their accomplishments.
This was the Tigers third tournament of the year and third Finals appearance. Great Job Tigers!!!