Jan 21, 2014 | Andrew | 1582 views
Atom AA Blizzard Tournament Champions!
What better way to shrug off the struggles of the second half of the regular season and prepare to do battle in the York-Simcoe playoffs, then by winning a tournament. And that is exactly what our Clippers did this past weekend at the Blizzard Challenge Tournament in Niagara Falls, New York.
Coaches and parents perhaps did not know what to expect going into this tournament, although the improved effort displayed by the Clippers in two final regular season losses was encouraging. Well, it seems the players in those last regular season games were finally getting the feel for the level of effort and determination the coaches have been preaching as necessary for success at this level.
The team continued to warm up to this notion in their opening game with the Southtown Stars on Saturday afternoon. The Clippers held the edge in play and chances throughout the contest, but couldn't quite break down the Stars who held on for a 2 - 2 tie. Under the tournament rules aside from the normal 2 points for a win and 1 point for a tie, additional 1 point is awarded for each period won and 1/2 point for each period tied. Since the two squads tied all three periods, they split 2-1/2 points each.
With Southtown only gaining a 1/2 point in an opening round loss to Tonawanda, the Clippers knew they needed but 1 point from their second round game against Tonawanda on Sunday morning to clinch a birth in the semi-finals. From the drop of the puck, it was apparent fairly quickly that the Tonawanda Lightning and the Clippers were well matched and the contest would go to the team that could dig deeper 'til the final whistle. After allowing the opening goal, the Clippers encouraged by some boisterous encouragement from their fans, battled back to taken a 2-1 lead and then survived Lightning rushes of 2 on 1 and 3 on 1 as the period closed, to gain the point needed for a semi-final birth.
The plucky Lightning, led by their speedy stickhandling phenom #5, pressed hard in the second in a back and forth contest and outscored the Clippers 3 to 2 to draw the contest even at 4 apiece. In the third, the Clippers, perhaps for the first time this season, demonstrated that the coaches lessons on sustained effort had finally sunk in, with every player elevating their game offensively and defensively. The result, two unanswered goals, a 6 - 4 victory, 4 points and first place in division A2.
The semi-final game early on Monday morning, saw the Clippers do battle with the second place team from division A1, the Hamburg Hawks. The team's disciplined play quickly reassured the coaches that there would be no letdown from the strong effort of the day before. The Clippers created chances for themselves with effective passing and play in the Hawks zone, and played a solid game defensively to limit the Hawks chances. The squad was able to pot three goals and Nick Von Kaufmann played superbly in net to gain the shutout.
In the other semi, Tonawanda outgunned the Clifton Park Dynamo 8-4 to setup a Clippers - Lightning rematch in the championship final.
Looking to avenge their early loss, the Lightning quickly staked themselves to 2-0 lead. But the Clippers did not wilt. Instead, showing a resilience not seen to date, they stayed energetic and battled back to tie the game. When Tonawanda later pulled ahead again, the Clippers kept applying pressure, eventually evening the contest and then themselves taking a 4-3 lead in the third period.
A visible part of the game plan was shutting down the ever dangerous #5 on the Lightning squad. While he did pot two goals in the game, every forward and defensive line did a great job of closely marking him and frustrating him at every turn. Still, every Stouffville fan was a bundle of nerves holding a slim lead in the third, until with a few minutes left in the contest the Clippers scored to gain a two goal cushion, followed by an empty-netter to take the championship. The victory was made possible by 110% effort by every player on the squad all game including goalie Matthew Montanari who superbly handled what the high-powered Lightning offensive threw at him.
Both the coaches and the families couldn't be happier for the kids on this well deserved tournament championship. After a bit of celebration this week, you can be sure the coaches will be working hard to build upon this success for the start of the York-Simcoe playoff run.