The Tom Smith U11 B Flames were in Midland this weekend for their early bird “A” tournament. It meant for a hectic start to the season, but the team welcomed the opportunity to find out how our improvement needs to be guided going forward. After only two team practices so far, the coaching staff didn’t have any goals in mind and were seeking a baseline of positives and negatives.
The weekend turned out to be a huge success, as the team posted a 3-1-1 record on their way to winning the consolation championship. The experience was extremely valuable as they navigated highs and lows, shook of nerves and realized how much hard work can slant the ice surface.
Penetang opened with a 6-6 tie against Owen Sound. Blowing a 6-3 lead certainly wasn’t ideal but has already proven to be a great teachable moment for the crew.
Next Penetang came out strong an opened an early lead against the Burlington Raiders, before hanging on for a 5-4 win. This first win of the season was particularly significant as Burlington turned out to be the eventual tournament champion.
The team was sluggish in its third game losing to the Oakville Rangers 5-2. The flames generally controlled possession but paid dearly as too many mistakes left their goaltender facing several high percentage chances.
These results had Penetang finish third in their pool and face South Simcoe in the consolation semi-final. The flames able to turn the page putting forth a dominant performance in skating to an 8-2 victory. This set up a date with their neighbouring rivals from Midland in the Consolation Final. In fact, this was also a battle of the only two teams in the tournament with minor aged players on their rosters.
Despite Sunday afternoon’s gorgeous weather, the rink had a large crowd on hand to take in the battle between these town rivals. Midland outworked the Flames in the early going in building a 4-2 lead, but the tides shifted as the Penetang players started to assert themselves. Penetang ended up filling the net seven times in the third period and skating away with a 9-6 win.
It wasn’t always pretty, but a great weekend and some solid building blocks in place as the team prepares to open its regular season in the coming weeks.
Congrats to the boys for their contributions to great team effort.
Go Flames Go!