The Breakaway Fuels U10’s travelled to Toronto to play in the
Shanahan International Tournament this past weekend.
Starting off on
Friday morning the young Devils faced the Toronto Jr Red Wings. The first two periods saw several chances but
both goalies stood tall and the teams found themselves deadlocked 0-0 heading
into the third. Ethan Dowling would get
the Devils on the board unassisted 47 seconds into the frame. But less than a minute later the Red Wings
snuck one past Jordan Andrews to tie it.
53 seconds later Reid Haley put the devils back in front with an assist
from Jackson Simpson. Dowling would put
them up 3-1 shortly after on a pass from Kolton Solmes. That goal deflated the Red Wings and Quinte
would control the rest of the game with Evan VanEgmond adding some more
insurance late in the period. Final
score 4-1. Top Devil went to Ethan
Dowling.
7 hours later the boys would face the number one ranked US
team, Detroit Little Ceasars. An early
goal by Detroit just 33 seconds in left the young devils shocked and although
they battled hard and Deacon Vos made several spectacular saves they just
couldn’t get rolling Friday night and fell 8-1.
The lone goal was scored by
Kolton Solmes(Mackie) with just 5 seconds left to break the shutout bid. Top Devil went to Deacon Vos.
Saturday morning brought a new opponent in the Toronto
Titans and the kids showed they were ready for the test. A heavy forecheck and smothering defence for the entire game led
to a convincing 3-0 win and got them back on track after the tough loss Friday
night. Scoring in this one was provided
by Kai Mackie (Dowling), VanEgmond, and Dowling (Solmes). Top Devil for this one went to Mason Cooke
for a fearless shot block late in the game to help Jordan Andrews preserve
shutout.
Saturday afternoon had them facing the Soo Greyhounds. Although the Greyhounds came out strong they
were no match on this day for the Young Devils relentless attack. Final score was 7-1. Goal scorers were Mackie (2), Avery Thickson,
VanEgmond(2), Greyson Rennie and Jackson Simpson. Assists went to Dowling, Plumley, VanEgmond,
Ryder Bradford (2), Thickson and McKinley Gunning. Top Devil went to Avery Thickson. Deacon Vos had a strong game between the
pipes.
Going 3-1 in round robin put the boys in 4th
place and gave them a quarterfinal match with the Toronto Titans. Much like game 1 the Devils controlled the
play and would move on to the Semis with a 3-1 win. Scoring was provided by Solmes, Dowling and
VanEgmond with assists going to Mackie (2) and Solmes.
The stage was set for the Semifinal against the high flying
Toronto Marlboros. Going into the match the
Marlies had 49 goals for and 0 against for the tournament. The first period was end to end with chances
both ways but the Marlies found the back of the net once to take a 1-0 lead
into the second. They would extend the
lead on a PP goal early in the second but Jackson Simpson would cut the lead in
half with assists to VanEgmond and Thickson.
The second period would end 2-1.
The Marlies again extended their lead to 3-1 four minutes into the
third. Mackie would pull the Devils back
to within one with assists to Dowling and Gunning. The final few minutes had fans on the edge of
their seats with intense, adrenaline filled action and the Devils did all they
could with several close chances with the goalie out but just couldn’t get one
past the goal line. Their tournament
would end with the 3-2 loss but this game showed that the young Devils are ready
to compete against the top teams in the province. Deacon Vos once again provided several highlight
reel saves. The Top Devil award went to
the entire team for a phenomenal effort in the loss. The coaching staff could
not be more proud of the group for their effort throughout the entire weekend.
Next weekend sees the U10’s back
in league action with games against Markham on Saturday(2pm) at the Wellness
Center and Ajax Pickering on the road on Sunday.