Minor Atom A White Takes Gold In liftlock Tournament, News, Minor Atom White, 2016-2017, A (Whitby Minor Hockey)

This Team is part of the 2016-2017 season, which is not set as the current season.
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Jan 26, 2017 | Mike Clarke | 1936 views
Minor Atom A White Takes Gold In liftlock Tournament
On January 13th the Whitby Minor Atom A ‘White’ team participated in Peterborough's 59th annual Liftlock Tournament. 

This was our fifth and final tournament and what a great way to end the season before heading into playoffs . 

Our first game began late Friday afternoon as the boys headed into their first game against the Gloucester Orleans Blues.  Gloucester wasn't a stranger to our team as we had defeated them in a previous tournament earlier in our season.

Whitby took control early scoring our first goal in the first few minutes of the game.  Even with the Blues scoring on us in the second period we continued to maintain control.  We were confident and able to keep most of the game in their end of the rink.   Our Forwards did a fantastic job of always having a player in the right spot at the right time.  As we entered the third period our team continued to score on our opponent, ending our first game against Gloucester 5-2. 

Winning our first game gave our players newfound confidence as we headed into our second day of tournament play against the Osgoode Romans early Saturday morning. 

With the drop of the first puck Whitby was able to take the lead and control the direction of the game.  Every attempt the Romans took to shoot on Whitby's net was met with a solid wall of defensive strength. 

A united front between our goaltending and defensive lines kept the puck out of our crease and allowed our forwards to focus and do what they do best.  The timing of our forwards was powerful and controlled; we were able to use a combination of passes and breakaways to score on the Roman's net.  By the end of the third period we had won the game 4-0 with our first shutout of the tournament. 

With two wins behind us we were now entering our third game.

Late Saturday afternoon we were to play our third game of the tournament against the Leitrim Hawks.  We had never played this team before, and had not seen them in any of our previous tournaments.

As the game began, the Hawks took an early lead - scoring on us just moments into the game.  The Wildcats held their composure and continued to play with the momentum and control they had demonstrated in previous games.  Going into the second period the Hawks continue to lead 2-1.  With both teams determined, the boys battled hard and fast.  As we were nearing the end of the second period our forwards were not giving up and scored a goal to tie the game 2-2.

Once again our Defensive lines showed outstanding teamwork as they continued to shutdown the Hawks and protect their goalie.  With 4 minutes left in the third period the Wildcats scored again.  This final goal enable our team to win their third straight game of the tournament.

Winning our Series meant we would be returning to participate in the semi final games bright and early the next morning.

The semi final game matched us against the Tournament’s home team (the ‘Peterborough Petes A team) whom we know all too well.

Do or die, both Peterborough and Whitby needed a Win to go on to the Finals.  Both teams pressed hard.  Whitby took an early lead by scoring on the Petes in the first period.  Our Goaltending did a fantastic job protecting shots on our net which enabled our team to hold their momentum.  At the end of the second period the score for Whitby was 2-0.  The Petes continued to shoot on us and every attempt was met by a united front between our Defense and Goaltending.

Our Forwards continued to use their amazing speed and stick handling, which lead to our third goal in the third period.  A 3-0 win over our host team was sending us to the Finals and we were now scheduled to play our last game against the Orillia Terriers.

Not only did our boys make it to the finals but they were now playing their Final game at the Peterborough Memorial Centre.  What an amazing opportunity for the boys to play in the same space as an OHL team.

Understanding we had never faced the Terriers before, we weren't sure what to expect from this team.  With a Gold medal on the line, the Terriers had a strong start – they had an unexpected breakaway that was fortunately saved by our fantastic goaltending.  With every shot we saved on our net, our boys turned the game around and brought it back to the Terrier’s end of the rink.  We ended the first period with a score 1-0 for Whitby.  Beginning early in the second period our boys played strong as a united front as they had practiced throughout the tournament so far.  They ended the second period leading 3-0.

 

Whitby was able to score another goal against Orillia in the third period making it 4-0. There was 5 minutes of time remaining in the game when the Terriers managed to score a goal against us, but was not enough to get us off track.  We ended the game with a final score 4-1 which delivered the Whitby White team another successful tournament win.

This was our second tournament win this season after winning our first tournament in Ajax and now our second tournament in Peterborough.

The Minor Atom A White team played strong competitive hockey in all of the tournaments we played this season.  Minor Atom A White has 17 amazing players who have been able to create one single united team – an arrangement we have been able to prove will always play stronger than a group of individuals. 

 

Congratulations Whitby Whites and their Coaching Staff for a successful tournament in Peterborough this past month and an enjoyable hockey experience to date.


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