The U11 Quinte Red Devils left everything on the ice this past weekend at the Hamilton Steel Tournament, demonstrating grit, dominant offense, and thrilling resilience as they battled their way to the Championship Final on Sunday.
The tournament began on Friday with a tight 2-1 loss to the team they would later meet in the final, the Grey Bruce Highlanders. Despite the close defeat, the Devils quickly rebounded against the Cambridge Hawks, unleashing a dominant offensive performance for a 11-1 victory.
Saturday brought a test of defensive strength and goaltending. The morning game against the Brantford 99ers saw both teams locked down defensively, resulting in a rare 0-0 draw. That evening, the U11 squad showcased a strong, full-team effort to shut out the host team, Hamilton Steel, with a commanding 6-0 win, securing their trip to the semi-finals.
The Red Devils faced off against the Soo Greyhounds on Sunday morning. The first period was a back-and-forth scoreless chess match. Quinte broke the deadlock in the second period, striking first with a shorthanded goal and netting a second before the buzzer to take a 2-0 lead into the final frame.The Soo Greyhounds proved relentless in the third, scoring on a power play with three minutes remaining, and then tying the game with only one minute left on the clock, sending the nail-biter into 4-on-4 overtime. In a dramatic finish, with just one second remaining in the overtime period, the Quinte Red Devils found the back of the net, sealing a heroic victory and stamping their ticket to the Championship Final.
The U11s would once again face the Grey Bruce Highlanders. The Highlanders came out strong, striking early and adding a power play goal late in the first period to put Quinte down 2-0. Demonstrating resilience, the Red Devils answered in the second period, scoring both a power play and a full-strength goal to even the score at 2-2 heading into the third. Quinte carried the momentum into the final frame, taking the lead with an early goal. However, the Highlanders equalized the score at 3 with four minutes left. In the final, intense minutes, Quinte had a goal disallowed before Grey Bruce took the lead with only one minute remaining. Quinte pulled their goalie for an extra attacker, but Grey Bruce found the empty net with 20 seconds left, finalizing the score at 5-3.
Though the final result was a tough loss, the U11 Quinte Red Devils showcased incredible heart, talent, and determination throughout the entire weekend.
On Deck: The U11s return to regular season play on Sunday, December 14th, facing off against the Ajax-Pickering Raiders in Marmora (puck drop-12:30pm)