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Two local Hockey Players traveled to Finland for World Selects U16 Invitational              

May 8,  2012



Two local hockey players participated in the World Selects Invitational U16 tournament in Finland this past week. The World Select tournament alumni includes many NHL players and expected top NHL draft pick Alex Galchenyuk of the Sarnia Sting.

Sam McCormack and Travis Moore both Lambton AAA players were selected to play for Pro Hockey Development, a team from the Toronto area. They spent the first five days of their trip in Tallinn, Estonia practicing and participating in team activities. On Tuesday, they took a ferry to Helsinki, Finland and participated in the Opening Ceremonies of the tournament that evening.

The tournament opened on Wednesday and they competed against a speedy Team Russia. With luck not on their side, the team lost 4-0 with an empty net goal scored against them. Later that same day they played Sweden Selects and lost 5-4 in a shootout . They still gained a valuable point though. Thursday, they were able to pull out a much needed win against Hamr(Czech) team with a 6-2 score and went on then to beat Atvomobilists 4-2 . Their last game in regulation, they played Norway Selects and took a 14-1 victory. Pro Hockey ended up in 5th position and had to meet up with a highly skilled North American team, the East Coast submitted photo

Selects. Pro Hockey went up 2-0 early in the first but had some bad bounces and could hold the lead for long. They were not able to regain that lead losing 7-4 in the quarter finals. East Coast went on to win their next game and played in the finals losing to Team Russia 8-1.

When asked about the tournament, McCormack said “I thought it was an unbelievable experience. I learned a lot about the cities we were in. We ate alot of different foods like reindeer. I made some great friends. We played on a bigger ice surface against and with some really skilled players. It was something I will never forget.”

Moore added "I loved hanging in the dressing room with the boys. I am so grateful to have been given this amazing opportunity. It was fun to see how different countries put their best players together. The cities were beautiful and the hockey was amazing and I wish we were going back tomorrow. It was an opportunity I will never forget. I enjoyed taking in the (IIHF) Canada/USA game. Coaches were great and I was proud to represent Pro Hockey and my country."