Jan 26, 2015 | Mike MacDonald | 1221 views
AYR FLAMES SILVER STICK FINALISTS
The Bantam Rep Flames travelled to Forest for the International Silver Stick which they qualified for last month.
On Friday morning Our first opponent were the Knights from Ottawa West. Opening day jitters hit the Flames as we suffered a 2 – 0 loss at their hands. Later that afternoon, we met a team from St. Clair Shores, Michigan. They gave us all we could handle as they took a lead 1 – 0, at the beginning of the second period. Will Barrie was masterful with the disc at the blue line and delivered a pass to Matthew MacDonald who was stationed at the half boards. After a few dekes and fakes, he launched an ICBM that the goalie never saw and the score was knotted up. Midway through the third a goal mouth scramble occurred in from of their net and everyone was attempting to find the handle. Dylan Dugal tried to bulge the twine his efforts were unrewarded. Finally, Noah Davis got his stick on the puck and deposited it in the back of the net. That was all that the Flames needed as our tough defense held strong for the rest of the game and we left the arena with a hard fought victory.
Saturday saw us tackle the Kanucks from Kincardine. We needed to bring our A-game if we were to have a chance. We opened things up early in the first period when Matthew Tomlinson pulled the trigger on a blast from the point that resulted in a juicy rebound. Ben Scott pounced all over that and delivered his blast and again, a fat rebound was the result. Finally, Sam McFarlane got his weight into the puck and we were up 1 – 0. Jake Feicht and Ryan Clinton owned the boards kept the opposition on their toes! Sam Johnston deflected any scoring attempts harmlessly into the corners from that point on. Our record improved to 2 wins and 1 loss which put us into a semi-final game with Ottawa West again.
Our game started well when Noah put us in front in the first frame with assists to Sam M. and Dylan. They pulled ahead 2 -1 by the end of the second period. Trevor Wing had a couple of glorious chances but was foiled by their tender. Dylan tied it up with a helper from Matthew M. before regulation time had expired. In overtime, Andrew Legare stormed behind their net and out-muscled a defender and made a beauty pass to Eric Stranz on the point. Eric ripped a shot along the ice that went post to post and into the cage! Isaac Seltzer was awesome throughout the match, but especially in the OT when he came up big! The Flames were in the Silver Sticks finals!
The final was a barn burner from start to finish. Ingersoll stood between us and a championship banner! There was no scoring in the first but lots of end to end action for the fans to enjoy. They got on the scoreboard first. Before the period ended Carter Purdon pinched at their blue line and managed get off a shot from the point. Sam M. corralled the rebound in mid-air things were even. Jordan Morschauser was seen slamming a couple of spectators into the bleachers as he controlled the crowd. Sam Johnston was stellar in our net throughout the whole game! This one required overtime again – and again – and again! The bubble burst in the third period of extra time, but the news was not good. Every one of the Flames played well and were full measure for an excellent performance and experience! Until next time, may the Flames be with you. By Doug Legare