2017-2018 U10 - Atom | Nov 19, 2017 | Scott Biser | 1476 views
Atom AA Finalists At Guelph Powerplay
The Guelph Atom AA Gryphons used a combination of outstanding goaltending, strong defense, and offensive depth en route to the finals at the Guelph Powerplay tournament before succumbing to the Mississauga Terriers in the finals by a score of 2-1.
The Gryphons hit the ice early Friday morning against the Belle River Canadians and started the tournament on the right foot with a 4-0 victory.
Matthew Stam got the Gryphons on the board just 1:37 into the contest. Olan Norton assisted on the play. The score stood 1-0 after one period of play.
The Gryphons burst out with three goals in the second period to secure the victory. 1:37 into the period, Koen Smith bulged the twine on the power play. Norton and Stam assisted on the play. With 2:30 left, Zac Conroy ripped home a drive to increase the lead. Max Grimwood and Landon Mitchell drew the assists. Then 45 seconds later, Koen Smith scored his second of the contest to complete the scoring. Stam picked up his third point of the contest with an assist on the play.
The two teams skated through a scoreless third period to make the final 4-0. Ale Gruosso was strong between the pipes to pick up the shut out.
Just two hours later, the Gryphons hit the ice once again for their second game of the day against the Gloucester Rangers from Ottawa. The Gryphons exploded for three goals in the opening four minutes enroute to a 6-0 victory. Olan Norton got Guelph on the board just 28 seconds into the contest as he walked in and snapped a high shot glove side to stake the Gryphons to an early lead. Just 1:21 later, Landon Mitchell walked in all alone and deked the goalie and slid the puck home for a 2-0 lead. 3:59 into the contest, Logan Biser fed Ryder Burns in front and Burns snapped it under the bar to increase the lead. Zac McKnight also drew an assist.
After a scoreless second period, Koen Smith added to the lead just 15 seconds into the third. Matthew Stam and Olan Norton drew assists on the play. Then 2:17 later, Mitchell picked up his second of the contest for a 5-0 lead. Adam Smith drew an assist on the play. In the final minute of play, Tanner Bothwell bulged the twine, from Oscar Johnson to complete the scoring. Parker Shany was strong when needed to pick up the shut out.
The Gryphons closed out the first day with a perfect 2-0 record.
Saturday morning, the Gryphons hit the ice against the Mississauga Terriers, a 1st place team from the GTHL who are currently ranked in the Top Ten in the province. Things looked grim for the Guelph squad as the fast skating and quick passing Terriers got on the board just 1:19 into the contest. However, Guelph settled down and answered back with a goal of their own with 2:00 minutes remaining in the first. Olan Norton banged home a rebound with Koen Smith drawing an assist. That would be all the scoring in this fast paced and entertaining contest as the two teams skated to a 1-1 draw.
Guelph faced the Nepean Raiders from Ottawa in their second game of the day. The Raiders were the better team on this day, using a goal in each period to skate off with a well deserved 3-0 victory.
The loss left Guelph with a 2-1-1 record in round robin play, good enough for second place in their division.
In semi final action on Sunday morning, the Gryphons once again squared off against the Gloucester Rangers, 3rd place finishers in the division. And just to show that their Friday victory was no fluke, the Gryphons prevailed by an identical 6-0 score. Olan Norton got the Gryphons on the board with 50 seconds remaining in the first period to get Guelph on the board. Matthew Stam assisted on the play as the score stood 1-0 at the end of first period.
The Gryphons used three goal second period to pull away from the tiring Gloucester squad. 5:04 into the second, Tanner Bothwell increased the Gryphon lead to 2-0 on an unassisted effort. With 2:43 remaining, Olan Norton scored his second of the game to increase the lead. Logan Biser assisted on the play. Then with just one second remaining in the 2nd, Matthew Stam ripped home the puck to make it 4-0.
5:25 into the third, Koen Smith, with help from Matthew Stam, found the back of the net to make the score 5-0. Then in the dying minutes of the game, Norton completed his hat trick, from Koen Smith, to make the final 6-0.
Ale Gruosso was once again steady between the pipes to pick up his second shut out of the tournament.
With the victory, the Gryphons advanced to the finals to face the Mississauga Terriers. The Terriers jumped out to a 1-0 lead 2:38 into the contest. However, a determined Guelph squad answered back just 39 seconds later as Logan Biser banged in a rebound to even up the game at 1.
The Terriers scored the winner with 3:45 remaining in the second as a high arching shot from the point bounces sideways in front over several sticks into the back of the the Guelph net. Guelph never quit and generated several chances in the final period that were turned aside by the strong Terrier netminder. The final buzzer sounded with Mississauga skating off with a 2-1 victory and the tournament title. It was a strong weekend for the tight knit Gryphon squad who raised their play to a new level over the course of the weekend.
The Gryphons now return to league action on Monday night when they travel to Orangeville to battle the first place Flyers.