Vikings hand St. Thomas second loss in Championship
andrew brethauer November 11th, 2010


For the second year in a row, St. Thomas of Villanova has found themselves in the championship on the Shamrock Invitational. And for the second year in a row, they found themselves on the losing end. The Northern Vikings finished their perfect run in the tournament with a 2-1 win over St. Thomas, to keep the Shamrock Invitational championship in Sarnia for another year.

Both teams came out fast and strong, but it was Northern who took control of the first period, firing shots on St. Thomas net minder, Nick Switoschick who managed to keep them out. Northern would also see strong goaltending from their first goalie, Vince Amodeo. Late in the first period, the Viking pressure would finally pay off as Ryan Dayman would pick up a rebound after Switoschick can't handle a wrist shot and put in the back hander to put Northern up 1-0.

The second period would show a turn, as the Wildcats would take control, putting shots on net and keeping the puck in the Viking zone. Eventually Tyler Pope-Ferguson would snipe a wrister past Amodeo and tie the game at one all. Half way through the second period, Northern would change their goalie and put in Brandon Johnson. The Wildcats would still keep their pressure and try and beat Johnson. On two occasions they did beat Johnson, but could not beat the post and crossbar, as  shots rang off and went wide of the net.

The final period saw an even control, where Northern and St. Thomas would both get equal shots on net, but both goalies stood strong and kept their team in the game. The game was waiting for a break, and it finally came, as off a faceoff, the puck was sent towards the net and deflected onto the stick of Nic Sansom, who cut across the top of the crease, and slide in under pads of Switoschick as he tried to slide across himself to make the save.

St. Thomas would have a power play opportunity and even pull their goalie, but it wasn't enough to get anything past Johnson, and the Northern Vikings would win the Shamrock Invitational 2-1.

Ryan Dayman of the Vikings was named tournament M.V.P. and accepted the championship for the Vikings. With the victory, the Vikings become a favourite in the L.S.S.A.A. with their season opening up next week.