As the Amherstburg Bantam Minor
Stars were rolling down the 401 towards the Greater Fort Erie Annual Tournament,
they knew they had their work cut out for them.
Down 2 players and an assistant coach, they could be considered the
underdogs. As fate would have it, before
they reached the tournament, they were also suddenly down a 3rd
player and their trainer. However, these
boys banded together and became unstoppable.
Setting the pace with a 2-0 win in the first game against Kingston, this team of 11 skaters and an amazing goalie put the other teams in their division on notice that they were not going down without a fight. When game 2 concluded with an 8-0 win over Leaside, which saw almost every player on the team score or assist in a goal, the determination of this team was something to be reckoned with.
In game three against Toronto, fierce defense, the ability to continue to push and play smart by the offence and outstanding goal tending by Stewart led to a 4-1 win. By this time, the tournament organizers and the other teams in our division were talking about this short bench team from Amherstburg that was now ranked 1st overall and in 1st place, heading to the semi-finals.
As we started out Sunday, the team was down another player and the rest of the team put everything they had into making us proud. An amazing hard fought game that was 0-0 at the end of regulation, went into overtime. Each side gave it their all but we were still tied up after OT. The crowd was waiting with bated breath as Kingston’s first player went up against Stewart between the pipes in the shoot-out and Stewart stopped him cold. As Jasey headed out as our first shooter, you could hear a pin drop in the arena. Until he scored and the Stars took the game!! We were going to the final!
In the final, Amherstburg was matched up against the powerhouse Oakville; a team with rested skaters and their own desire to win. The arena was tense as our boys, some bruised, a few recovering from illness, each one exhausted and all wanting the win, got set to go. Each and every player pushed hard, skated faster and took that one last step each shift to play their hearts out. The second period ended at 0-1 for Oakville. After all they had accomplished over the weekend, these boys, along with their coach were far from giving up. As the parents cheered loudly, shortly into the third period, we tied up the game when Tomasian clipped one in after an assist from McGregor and Couvillion. There was no turning back and Stewart kept up his amazing feat of holding off Oakville shots as the third kept ticking to a close. With 42 seconds left in the game, Jasey sealed the deal with an assist from Tomasian and McGregor to take the win. Amherstburg Bantam Minor Stars win 2-1 over Oakville! Even the referee’s from the game commented on the amazing accomplishments of the team! Each player on the team played a key role in the success of the team and worked very hard together for the ultimate goal. These boys made many of us proud and inspired us to believe in the power of believing in yourself against any obstacle.