U13A Stouffville Clippers win the Buffalo River Outdoor
Classic Tournament!
One might think that the conditions for an
outdoor hockey tournament would be less than ideal when the weather is
unexpectedly warm, humid and rainy, and you would be absolutely right! The
tournament featured outdoor rinks that were covered by a pavilion, giving the
players a very unique playing experience. Unfortunately, due to the warm
weather from Hurricane Nicole, the first day of games were very foggy, the ice
was a bit rough, and the boys had to deal with conditions they hadn’t
experienced before
But deal with it they did! The team went 2-0 on the first day, having to battle back from being down 3-0 and 2-0 in their games. On the second day, the weather thankfully turned cold, and the conditions were excellent for outdoor hockey. We faced a relentless team from Bethlehem NY who turned the tables on us after we were up 2-0, to come back and beat us 5-2. After the game, we refocused and talked about how achieving our goals is almost never a straight line and battling through adversity is how the best teams succeed. You could have heard a pin drop in the room after the game, as the boys digested what they would needed to do on Sunday.
We ended up seeded 2nd in our 6-team division, and on Sunday morning dominated our semi-final with Weston throwing up a 3-0 shutout performance. As fate would have it, we got the rematch we were hoping for with the Bethlehem Eagles in the final. The boys were absolutely chomping at the bit to get started, and their determination was clear on the first shift when Peyton powered through the Eagles defense and scored our first of 4 goals in the first period. The Eagles were no pushovers, and continued to come at us in waves, but the Clippers weathered the storm and came through with a resounding 7-3 win!
The U13A Clippers are Sebastian L, Adam N, Marlowe B, Ryan M, Peyton W, Scott JL, Anderson G, Roary S, Jaiden C, Jake A, Cooper B, Charlie A, Tyler R, Nick P, Connor G, Cole C, and Weston P.