On
the weekend, the Ayr Atom AE Flames travelled to Aylmer to play a tournament
that will close out the season, while hoping to bring back some wins.
On Friday afternoon, the Flames suited up for their first game of the tournament against the Essa Eagles. Nate Sherk would start in the net for this game. In the first period, Ayr had a strong start with Matthew Wood opening the scoring three minutes in assisted by Ethan Dunnet. The Flames continued to put the heat on with another goal from Wood assisted by Aaron Henhoeffer. Now Ayr was really rolling, scoring again with a goal by Curtis stone assisted by Carter Cressman just 40 seconds later, and another goal by Kiana Baker 20 seconds later. Three goals in one minute! Ayr ended out the period up 4-0. In the second period, the Flames’ scoring slowed, but not the effort. Ayr was almost playing better than the first period, with some great saves from Nate Sherk in net, some great fore checking by Wood, Henhoeffer, Josh Ritchie and Stone, some great net presence by Baker, Dunnet, Gillan Generoux, Michael Aoun and Simon Desousa, and some great defensive poke – checks by Cressman, Whitfield Martin, Christopher Cotter and Noah Covemaeker. Despite these great plays, Ayr was held off the score sheet this period. In the third period, the Flames continued to play a good game at both sides of the ice, and continued to hold the Eagles off of the score sheet. Ayr also contributed to the offensive aspect of their game, and Stone scored with 50 seconds remaining assisted by Dunnet. The score would end at 5-0 for Ayr. A solid shutout win for Sherk and this put the Flames in a good position. Josh Ritchie won the player of the game award. The next game was Saturday morning against the Tillsonburg Tornadoes. Gage Montroy would start in net for this game. In the first period, Ayr got off to a good start with shots on net and successful break- outs, but Tillsonburg managed to score with 2 minutes remaining in the period. In the second period, Ayr continued to play a good offensive and defensive game but could not put a puck past the Tornadoes goalie in this period. The score remained 1-0 after 2 periods. In the third period, the Flames tried to kick their outputs up a notch, and to tie the score and hopefully get a tie or win to guarantee a semi-final berth, but their hopes were slipping away as Tillsonburg scored with 3 minutes remaining to make it 2-0. As time ran out, it became clear, but the Flames were willing to score one goal before time expires. And with 1 second left, Noah Covemaeker scored a goal to make it 2-1. Unfortunately, there was not enough time for Ayr to tie it up. The final score was 2-1. The player of the game award this game went to Simon Desousa. On Saturday evening, the Flames were to play the Strathroy Jr. Rockets to see whether they would make it to the semi-finals. Nate Sherk would start in net for this game. In the first period, the Flames started with a good shift that set their tone for the game. Ayr was playing well and only let 1 goal past in the first 5 minutes, and responded with a goal by Gillan Generoux assisted by Josh Ritchie and Carter Cressman to tie the game heading into the second period. In the second period, the Flames continued to play a good defensive game while also getting shots and so scoring a goal by Matthew Wood assisted by Simon Desousa to make it 2-1. Nate Sherk was making magnificent stops to keep Ayr in the game the score remained 2-1 after 2 periods. In the third period, the game heated up and the fans were figuratively biting their nails. The Rockets scored with 9 minutes left to tie the game, and it was very intense. With five minutes left, Aaron Henhoeffer scored assisted by Whitfield Martin to get the go-ahead goal in the third. And with the help of strong defense, back checking forwards, and Sherk in net, Ayr kept the score at 3-2 for a win. The player of the game award went to Nate Sherk. Because of this victory, Ayr advanced to the semi- final Sunday morning against the Caledonia Thunder. Gage Montroy would start in net for this game. Ayr played a good game, but was not aggressive enough to beat Caledonia, one of the toughest teams in their league. The final score was 4-0. All the players had fun this year and what a year it was. Season, tournaments, playoffs and exhibition games were played and we had a lot of fun. Thanks go to the coaches: Jeremy Ritchie, Troy Generoux, Tim Baker, Terry Stone and Ken Sherk, and parents for bringing the players to all the games. A fun year of hockey for the Flames!
Written By: Noah Covemaeker