The Novice AA Gryphons fell just short in their pursuit of a
Tri County Championship as they dropped a 3-2 decision to the Burlington Eagles
in the series deciding Game 5 on Wednesday night.
Before a large crowd of rapid Gryphon supporters, Burlington drew first blood as Cam Lang lifted a wrist shot into the net just 14 seconds into the contest. Despite the brief setback, the Gryphons went to work and controlled the play for the majority of the period. With 3:00 remaining, a hard Guelph forecheck knocked the puck loose in the Burlington zone where Landon Mitchell swooped in and broke in alone and went top shelf to tie the score. Riding a wave of momentum, just as the period was coming to a close, Mattew Stam stepped out from behind the net and slid the puck between the post and the goalie’s pad to give Guelph a 2-1 lead heading into the first intermission.
Burlington tied the score at the halfway mark of the second when Cam Lang struck again, lofting a high arcing shot from just inside the blueline over the heads of the Guelph defenders and into the top of the net. The score remained 2-2 heading into the final frame.
Burlington scored the game winner early in the third as they corralled a rebound and pounded it in. The Gryphs tried valiantly to cash in the equalizer only to be turned away by Burlington’s tight checking. The clock ticked down and Burlington emerged as deserving champions in a fantastic series between two evenly match teams. It seems a long time ago, but only a year, that the Gryphons were completely overmatched in a 7-0 pasting against the same Burlington club in Tyke tournament action.
Despite the disappointment of the loss, it was a hugely successful season for the Gryphon team. For a team that struggled to only 2 victories in Tyke to falling just short of 40 wins this season, the positive results were readily apparent. But besides the wins and losses, this group of 17 boys worked together and developed an identity and reputation in the league of out working their opponents and never giving up. They also developed a great deal of team comradery and worked together and stuck together both on and off the ice. Congratulations boys, you should be very proud of how hard you worked and all that you achieved.
Team members of the 2015-2016 of the Novice AA Tri County Finalists are:
Kurtis Abbey
Allesandro Gruosso
Nolan Chabot
Hunter Solomon
Adam Smith
Zac Conroy
Noah Milne
Vincent Piccone
Trenton Harris
Oscar Johnson
Caysen Craig
Landon Mitchell
Nathan Schlitt
Matthew Stam
Nathan Briggs
Koen Smith
Tanner Bothwell