Nov 18, 2014 | Lisa Pietras | 2763 views
Bantam AE Team Takes Gold at Montreal Can/Am
The 2014 Guelph Jr. Gryphons Bantam AE team traveled to Montreal, Quebec to participate in the Can/AM Challenge Cup from November 14 - 16 and brought home the Gold medal for their efforts.
The team extended their winning streak and were undefeated in the tournament with a perfect 4-0 record.
The Guelph Jr. Gryphons started on Friday afternoon and defeated the Arnprior Packers 3-1, with goaltender Vincent Ferguson-Pecora stopping 20 of 21 shots. A pregame coaching decision to have Mackenzie Breese centering Jared Gaudette on the right side and Brett Laplaunte on the left, proved to be a good one as the line tallied for 5 points in the game. Down 1-0 going into the 2nd period Jared Gaudette scored with assists going to Mackenzie Breese and Brett Laplaunte. Gavin Bruce made it 2 -1 late in the period. Coming out of the penalty box, Gavin received a stretch pass sending him in all alone and sliding the puck behind the Arnprior goalie. Daniel Fitzpatrick was credited with the assist. The teams battled back and forth during the 3rd period when Jared Gaudette scored his 2nd of the game on a give and go pass play from Mackenzie Breese to notch the victory.
On Friday evening, The Gryphons made it two in a row as they defeated the strong 1-0 Aurora Tigers by a score of 3-1. Sachi Wijekoon stopped 18 of 19 shots to take the win. Again down 1-0 in the 2nd period, the Jr. Gryphons fought back as Torin Martin scored an unassisted goal at the 10 minute mark to tie the game. Midway thru the 3rd period, Zach Pietras took a feed from Matteo Mammoliti, to give Guelph a 2-1 lead. And less than a minute later, Mackenzie Breese scored his second of the tournament on a feed from Daniel Fitzpatrick and giving Guelph the win.
On Saturday morning, the Gryphons faced the 1-1 Knights from Ajax. Guelph scored early and often taking a 3-0 lead into the 2nd period on goals from Brodey Hlushko, assisted by Shea Devlin; Mackenzie Breese with assists going to Gaudette and Laplaunte; and Torin Martin notched his second of the tournament on assists from Ewan Cesar and Brodey Hlushko. But the pesky team from Ajax fought back with 3 unanswered goals of their own in the 2nd period to tie the game. At the 3 minute mark of the 3rd period, while on the powerplay, Brett Laplaunte broke in on the left side and fired a snap shot into the top right hand corner to give Guelph a 4-3 lead. Ajax took a penalty shortly after the whistle sending Guelph back on the powerplay when Jared Gaudette scored another to give Guelph a 5-3 lead. Matteo Mammoliti scored at the 8 minute mark, assisted from Ewan Cesar and Gavin Bruce and Jared Gaudette added his 2nd of the game giving Guelph a 7-3 win late in the period. Assists went to Breese and Laplaunte. Vincent Ferguson-Pecora stopped 29 of 32 shots to record his second win of the tournament.
This gave Guelph a 3-0 record sending them to the gold medal game at 8 am Sunday morning. Their opponent was not determined until late Saturday night as the other teams were battling for 2nd place. The Arnprior Packers were awarded second place based on "goals against" percentage.
The Arnprior team came to play as they scored in the 1st. minute of the game. It wasn't until the 9 minute mark when Lucas Cross skating in on the left side from his own zone and scored glove side to tie the game. Very early in the 2nd period, Guelph took a 2-1 lead when Ryan Ritchie scored on a great give and go feed from Lucas Cross. Gavin Bruce also recorded an assist on the play. But the lead was short lived as Arnprior tied it at 2 with 4 minutes to play in the 2nd. Arnprior took a 3-2 lead in the 1st minute of the 3rd period and then buckled down defensively keeping Guelph off the puck. With only 6 minutes remaining in the game, Guelph tied the game at 3. Working from their own zone, Mackenzie Breese and Jared Gaudette worked their magic again. On a pass from Gaudette out of the corner to Breese, he was stopped on a shot in the low slot. But the Arnprior goalie gave up a big rebound, allowing Brett Laplaunte to beat the goalie glove side on a slap shot from the high slot.
Nothing was decided in regulation time, so the teams went to a Tournament style overtime to decide the winner. In the 4th overtime period, Jared Gaudette faced off against the fastest skater from Arnprior. At the drop of the puck, the Arnprior skater pushed the puck past Gaudette sending him in on a break away. Sachi Wijekoon stood the test of will and stopped the Arnprior team from winning the gold medal. As the puck lay lose, Gaudette took things in control and skated past the Arnprior player who lost an edge, sending the Guelph player in all alone. Gaudette recorded his 5th goal of the tournament firing a snap shot blocker side and giving The Guelph Jr. Gryphons the Gold medal.
Sachi Wijekoon recorded his 2nd win of the tournament stopping 26 of 29 shots.
The coaches awarded Matteo Mammoliti the MVP of the tournament for his hard work and dedication both on and off the ice.
The coaching staff were very impressed with a total team effort put forth in the tournament. "The team never gave up and played with a purpose" said coach Rob and Kevin.
The parents, and players and the entire coaching staff wish to thank General Manager Lisa Pietras for all her hard work and efforts in coordinating the Montreal experience for the team. Great job Lisa.
For all player and goalie stats from the tournament, you can access them at the link below.
http://canam_hockey.stats.pointstreak.com/players-division.html?divisionid=80098&seasonid=13603
Video highlights and photos from the weekend can be viewed in the Galleries section of the team web page.