Oct 19, 2016 | tphilp | 874 views
Toros Battle Hard and earn Silver in Lake Placid International Tournament
It was a roller coaster weekend with the Clarington Toros Atom AE squad travelling to Lake Placid for the CHE Hockey American Cup Tournament. The Toros had worked hard in practice, knowing this wasn't going to be an easy tournament, and prepared themselves to play on a bigger Olympic-sized ice. They focused well and made sure they kept the visits to the hotel pool to a minimum.
The first game started early on Friday against the big, bruising Boston Jr. Rangers. The Toros did their best to keep up. Some strong skating and backchecking from the line of L. Storey, N. Harper, and G. Antaya allowed A. Csizmadia to make some excellent saves in the first half of this game. Some good digging by S. Archer and a nice pass out front to T. Taylor gave the Toros the first goal midway through the 2nd period. The Rangers fought hard but the Toros battled right back. J. Ward blocked some key shots and R. Viegas got the puck out hard to help their goalie hold the shutout. Unfortunately, the Rangers got two quick goals on two powerplays, and were able to hold on to win the 1st game, 3-1 with an empty netter.
The second game on Friday afternoon saw the Toros pitted against a scrappy Black Ice team from Vermont. Captain J. Jessen pointed out early that #11 of the other team was the one to key on, as the Black Ice player successfully scored within 9 seconds of the opening face-off. #11 scored again in the 1st, and it didn't look good for the Toros to make the Championship game with their current situation. This was when R. Viegas decided to take matters into his own hands. Viegas dodged two players in the defensive zone and sped up. Bursting into the offensive zone, Viegas made a nice pass to N. Hibbard on the doorstep for a key goal to make the score 2-1. This should've pumped up the team, but Black Ice potted another one before the end of the 1st to go up 3-1. The Toros needed solid defensive play in the 2nd combined with quality goaltending to get by a barrage of Black Ice shots. D. Baksh made some excellent glove saves and a nice kick save or two, while the defensive pairing of N. Fraser and E. Carey shot the puck out of the defensive zone with authority. A miracle was needed in the 3rd, and it happened. L. Guernsey brought it in the zone with speed, S. Archer made a beautiful pass to T. Taylor, and Taylor buried top-cheese. This line wasn't done, as S. Archer potted a game-tying rebound from Taylor and Guernsey buzzing around the net and causing havoc. The game ended in a tie, leaving the Toros hungry for their first win.
The third game would produce that win, as the Toros were able to secure a 3-2 victory against the big, tough team from Cornwall. S. Archer again dug a beauty out to T. Taylor in front for a goal early. L. Storey and G. Antaya got into the corners and battled hard for the puck, ensuring Cornwall couldn't get that equalizing goal. Unfortunately, Cornwall was able to put in 2 quick goals to put the Toros down by one. It was time for the Toros to hit their patented 'third gear'. L. Guernsey stormed up the boards and tossed it over to an open J. Jessen for the game-tying goal. Minutes later, C. Davis and L. Geniole kept the puck in the offensive zone by making some smart decisions and looking for open space. Geniole blasted a shot towards the net, it deflected to Taylor's stick, and Taylor was able to put it in the mesh for a big game-winner.
With a 1-1-1 record, the Toros were able sneak into the Championship match against the tough Boston Jr. Rangers. The Toros played their heart out, but couldn't crack the Boston goalie, falling 3-0 to a very tough team in the finals. Toros held their head high though, and wore their silver medals with pride. T. Oliver was given the horns for this game, as it was agreed by the whole team that he back-checked the hardest in the 3rd period when it was needed.
The 1st-place Toros will be heading to a tough back-to-back weekend match-up vs. Peterborough White and Northumberland. Battle hard Toros! Grind it out!