London Jr Knights Early Bird Tournament
Sept 18 - 20, 2009

 

The Lambton Jr Sting Minor Atoms played in the London Jr Knights Early Bird Tournament this past weekend.  They played very well going 4-0 in the round robin and made it to the semifinals before losing a close game against the Toronto Titans.

 

Game 1

 

The first game was against the Chatham-Kent Cyclones. The boys seemed to be running around a bit in the first half of the period but  they did manage to settle things down.  Joe Correia opened up the scoring on the powerplay with a great wrist shot from the point which found the back of the net, assisted by Curtis Marks.  Chatham tied up the game but the Sting battled back as Cameron Adam scored from a nice centering pass from Dante Fuoco.  

 

In second period they added to their lead as C. Adam was the recipient of another great pass, this time by Carson Payne with Brett Allardyce getting the other assist.  On the other end of the ice, Cole Doig was solid in net, flashing his glove on a number of occasions to keep the Cyclones off the scoreboard.

 

In third the Sting finished off with 2 more goals.  First it was Curtis Marks who lit the lamp assisted by Carson Payne and then finally B. Allardyce moved in off the point and scored from the slot assisted by C. Adam and Lucas Ross.

 

The final score was 5-1 Sting!  What a great way to start a tournament.

 

Game 2

 

The Sting faced the Jr. Knights Gold in game 2 and came away with an impressive 4-0 shutout.  Just like the 1st game, the boys came out a little flat in the early going of the first period, spending most of the time in their own end.  Eventually, they did find their legs and were able to weather the early onslaught.  While it wasn’t pretty hockey their shear determination kept the score sheet clear through 1 period.

 

In 2nd, the Sting started forechecking and shooting from all angles which resulted in 2 goals.  The first was scored by Theo Crombeen on a rebound from Gage Langford shot. Next it was Lucas Ross who also banged in a rebound assisted by Cameron Adam and Brett Allardyce.  London also had some good chances but were time and time again thwarted by Jacob Knowles who played outstanding in his shutout.

 

In the 3rd, our defense (Allardyce, Correia, Langford, Core, Arthurs and Trusler) did a great job smoldering the London forwards every time they entered our zone and it clearly was frustrating them as they started taking penalties.  The Sting added to their lead, with 2 goals from Dante Fuoco assists going to Lucas Ross, T. Crombeen and Cameron Rombouts.  

 

Sting earned a great victory against this strong London team.  They should be very proud of their efforts.  Let’s continue this into our next 2 games.

 

Game 3

 

The first Saturday game came pretty early in the morning and it showed as the boys came out a little sluggish against PK Warriors, a team out of Michigan.

 

The game remained scoreless until half way through the 2nd period while being shorthanded, Cameron Adam got a breakaway and put the team up 1-0.  The Sting started getting their legs and added another before the period ended as Dante Fuoco found the net, assisted by Lucas Ross and C. Adam.

 

Defensively, the Sting limited the Warriors to only 8 shots, due partly to some hardwork  and aggressive play on the boards by Ben Arthurs.  The Sting added 2 more goals to round out the scoring.  First, it was D. Fuoco with a great effort for his second of the game, assisted by L. Ross and C. Adam.  Finally, it was Josh Vale who bulged the twine, assisted by heo Crombeen and Cameron Rombouts, to make it a 4-1 final score.

 

Cole Doig showed good concentration making some key saves,  despite seeing limited action which can be very tough.

 

Good game boys!  Let's make it 4-0 and guarantee a spot in the semis.

 

 

Game 4

 

The Stings final round robin game was against the South Central Coyotes.

 

There was great pace to this game right off the hop with both teams using great speed and pretty passing.  However, neither team could get on the score sheet in the first.

 

In the second the Sting came out flying.  It didn't take long before Theo Crombeen crashed the net after a shot was taken to knock home the rebound, assists going to Carson Payne and Nolan Farr.  Just 42 seconds later, it was Nolan Farr who ripped one from the slot after a shot from Gage Langford, the other assist to Brett Allardyce.  The Sting added one more the period as Curtis Marks beat the goalie streaking down the right side, assisted by Lucas Ross and Duncan Core.  The Coyotes did put alot of pressure in our zone but the defense held their line well.  One of the best plays of the game was a diving Alec Trusler, who chased down a Coyote forward who looked to have a clear breakaway and knocked the puck cleanly of his stick.

 

In the third the Sting showed that there conditioning was a bit better winning puck battles offensively and defensively.  Cameron Rombouts scored at 4:32 assisted by Josh Vale, followed by another by Rombouts 24 seconds later this time assisted by Cameron Adam and Josh Vale.

 

Jakob Knowles was in net for the Sting and again came up with some great saves that deflated the Coyotes confidence.

 

Final score was 5-1 Sting!  Fantastic job boys going 4-0 in the round robin and clinching 1st seed going into the semis.  Next opponent...the Toronto Titans.

 

Semi-Final

 

Finishing as the 1st seed put the Sting in a semi-final match up with the Toronto Titans.  Both teams finished 4-0 in the round robin and were ready to go when the puck dropped.

 

The first period was very fast paced as both teams skated very well.  But neither teams defense was giving up the middle and both teams forwards were back checking well.  The Sting got on the scoreboard first with some great pressure which ended in Josh Vale knocking it home, assisted by Cameron Rombouts and Theo Crombeen.  Shortly after the Titans tied it up and the period ended that way.

 

In the second period the Sting regained the lead as Brett Allardyce's shot on net, created a nice rebound for T. Crombeen to capitalize on.  This lead did not last long however,  as the Titans would once again even the score at 2-2.

 

The score would stay 2-2 for a bit despite both teams having their chances of pulling ahead.  Cole Doig made some great saves to keep the score tied, including stoning a Titan forward on a breakaway.  Gage Langford, new to defense this year played his best game thus far, demonstrating some great work on the boards.

 

The Titans did finally score as a forward cut in towards net and while attempting to deke the goalie mishandled the puck which unfortunately found its way in the net.

 

With time running out the Sting did have a few chances to even the score but were unable to find the touch.  The end result was 3-2 Titans.

 

Chins up boys, you had a fantastic tournament going 4-1.  You beat some quality teams and just came up a little short.  You all should proud of your efforts and accomplishments.