Nov 20, 2022 | Jeff Steinbach | 219 views
Port Dover Tournament
Caledonia Thunder U11 Team 1 participated in the Thomas Butler Memorial Tournament this past weekend in Port Dover.
On Friday, Caledonia opened the tournament against a strong team from Port Dover. Caledonia opened the scoring early, with James G scoring, assisted by Fletcher F. Dover responded, tying it before the end of the first. In the 2nd period, Chase W once again gave Caledonia the lead, but Port Dover responded once again to even the score entering the third period of play. In the third, Port Dover went ahead, but some key saves by goaltender Jaxon C, and strong defence from Molly F, Drew G, Nate C, and Teddy B kept the Thunder in the game, before James G set up Noah K on the powerplay to even the score at 3. Final score Caledonia 3, Port Dover 3.
On Saturday morning, Caledonia played a very strong team from Lucan. Despite falling behind 2-0 early, Caledonia answered, with Chase W and Fletcher F (assist by Zach A) evening the score. Before the end of the period, Lucan was awarded a penalty shot, but was turned aside by goaltender Davin S to keep the score 2-2 at the end of 1 period of play. Unfortunately, a few bad bounces, and Lucan driving the net, resulted in them going ahead to stay in the 2nd and 3rd periods, winning 6-2.
Later Saturday afternoon, James G represented Caledonia in the Skills Competition. James showed off his fast skating, accurate shooting, and obstacle-course skills, finishing in the top half of the competition.
On Sunday afternoon, Caledonia had to face an undefeated Dresden Jr Kings team. After falling behind 1-0, Caledonia got to work, playing arguably their best game of the season thus far. Chase W (assist by James G) tied the game 1-1 after 1 period of play. In the 2nd period, goaltender Jaxon C robbed Dresden with a huge glove save, before Layton H put one past the Dresden goalie, giving Caledonia the 2-1 lead after two periods of play. In the third, Caledonia scored early, with the energy line of Zach A, Fletcher F, and Layton H taking the play to the Jr Kings. Fletcher F showed off his backhand shooting skills, scoring with an assist to Layton H.Dresden, the eventual champions of the entire tournament, responded strong, scoring 2 goals, but solid backchecking by the entire team, including the line of Blake L, Davin S, and Violet E, and solid defence by Nixon Y, Nate C, Molly F, and Teddy B, held Dresden at bay. As was a common theme in the tournament, Caledonia found itself in penalty trouble, but Chase W, Noah K, and James G killed off a 5-on-3 Dresden advantage to leave the final score 3-3.
Dresden would go on to win the championship by a score of 2-0, showing that the Thunder played a great tournament overall! Next regular season game is this Wednesday in Hagersville.