Optimist Club Novice Shamrocks go undefeated in tournament to capture championship title!
This
past week the Optimist Club Novices traveled to St. Catherine’s to represent
the Parry Sound Shamrocks in the Annual Vic Teal Memorial Tournament.
On day one the Shamrocks faced the Port Colborne Sailors. The Shamrocks came out strong early in the game but Port Colborne didn’t go down easy scoring a couple of late goals narrowing the gap but ultimately the Shamrocks rose as the victors in a close 4-3 win. Later that day the Shamrocks took on the TNT Tornados and with both teams coming off wins in their first games this was bound to be a feat, but the Shamrocks would pull together and defeat the Tornados 7-2!
On day two the Shamrocks were matched up against the Halton Hills Thunder. Both the Shamrocks and the Thunder had won both games the day prior so both teams came out with their eye on the win, but the strong Shamrock bench proved too much for the Thunder hammering them with goals and goaltender Orion Cooper shutting them out 9-0. Later that afternoon the Shamrocks would go on to defeat the Mount Brydges Cougars in their final game of round robin play with a score of 4-0.
Still undefeated, the Shamrocks would now be matched up against the Strathroy rockets in the semifinals on day three. Strathroy was a team that the Shamrocks had not yet faced. Our boys fought hard and were able to conquer the Rockets 6-1 to move on to the final game of the tournament later that day in a rematch against the Port Colborne Sailors.
The game against the Sailors on day one was the toughest and closest game for the Shamrocks so they knew they would have to pull together and fight their fatigue to get the win. The Shamrocks came out strong with three goals in the first period. Port Colborne continued to play hard and scored a goal in the second period, but thanks to the Shamrocks strong defensive play they couldn’t be caught and ultimately won 3-1 capturing the championship title!
This entire tournament was truly a team effort, proven by the fact that the Shamrocks outscored their opponents 33-7! A special thank you to all of the players for their hard work after a long week of hockey. Also thanks to all the hockey parents, siblings and grandparents for their enthusiasm, we were definitely the loudest and greenest folks in St. Catherine’s! Finally, a huge thanks goes to the entire coaching staff for their constant encouragement and support of all players throughout this tournament and the entire season! Go Shamrocks Go!
