Dec 02, 2024 | Jenny Arbuckle | 130 views
U10AA Gryphons
Your U10 AA Guelph Gryphons celebrate a championship at our hometown PowerPlay Tournament. The season has been a rollercoaster for this young team entering their first year of rep hockey.
They faced one of the most difficult schedules in the province and their record of 5-17-2 demonstrated this difficulty. The week before the tournament, the coaching staff saw a change. Saturday, November 16th, the team visited Oakville. Having lost to them on the earlier Monday 5-1, expectations underestimated this team. All of a sudden, the momentum the coaches had worked so hard to build fell into place and the team found its stride. The U10AA was up 4-0 in the second period and won the game 6-3. Heading into the tournament, the team was on fire. They started off slow on Friday morning, facing a strong North York team, ultimately losing 5-1. The coaches knew the team had more strength and tenacity than that. The boys rose to the challenge in the second game, facing the Stoney Creek Warriors, a team they tied 3-3 in the regular season. The team came out on top, winning 5-2. An early morning for the team on Saturday as they faced the Gloucester Rangers and then the Brampton 45's. The team went undefeated Saturday winning 5-2 in the first game and 8-1 over Brampton. The U10AA secured their top spot in the round robin and headed to the semi finals on Sunday. Bright and early Sunday morning, we faced the North York Knights, the team who beat us 5-1 in the first game on Friday. The team faced a strong battle, ending the game in a 2-1 win and heading to the Championships.The Championship was against the Glancaster Bombers, a team they haven't met yet in the regular season. Glancaster took a quick 2-0 lead over the team, to be struck by 3 unanswered goals. Heading into the third period, we were tied 2-2. Nearing the end, Guelph took a 4-3 lead with 2 and half minutes left in the game. A quick insurance goal left us 5-3 before a response from Glancaster in the last minute of the game. As all held their breaths, the Gryphons held their ground and fought to the last second of this game to achieve a 5-4 victory over the Bombers and secure the PowerPlay Championship. Congratulations to the team, coaches, manager, parents, and families. This will be a memorable weekend for years to come, celebrated by so many that support Guelph Minor Hockey and these young athletes.
--J Verdone