Shelley Armit
The Fort Frances Canadians Bantam ‘AA’ hockey team wrapped up its season this past weekend at the Norwest Stars tournament in Thunder Bay.
After ending round-robin play with a 1-0-2 record, the squad went on to beat the Kenora Thistles 5-2 in the quarter-finals.
Then they went up against the Westfort Maroons in the semi-finals, where they captured a 4-1 victory to send them to the championship game versus the Dryden Paper Kings.
Both teams came on strong to start, with the first period ending in a scoreless tie.
The Paper Kings netted a goal early in the second period, then scored again in the third period to lead the Canadians 2-0 with eight minutes to go.
The Canadians drew within one despite being shorthanded, then tried to capitalize with an extra man by pulling their goalie in the last minute of play.
Instead, Dryden notched an empty-net goal.
With 28 seconds left on the clock, the Canadians opted to keep their net empty and Dryden added one more to make the final score 4-1, giving the Canadians the silver medal.
The Bantam Canadians, led by head coach Jamie Davis, assistant coach Mike Allison, goalie coach Paul Visser, and trainer Alyssa Vanderaa, had a very successful season.
It started in Dryden, where they captured the silver medal. Then hoping to capture gold at their home tournament, the squad once again had to settle for a second-place finish.
The team then travelled to a few tournaments in Minnesota. They finished in sixth place in Bemidji with a 2-2 record before going 0-4 at the Edina Invitational.
Heading into the new year, however, the Canadians looked even stronger, defeating the Dryden Paper Kings at the Kenora Thistles’ tournament to capture the gold medal.
The squad then headed to Detroit Lakes, where they ended the weekend with a 4-1 record for a fifth-place finish.
After boarding the bus and heading to Wisconsin Dells, the Canadians went undefeated to come home with yet another gold medal.
Finishing the season with a second-place showing in Thunder Bay gave the team a record of two gold medals, three silver medals, one fifth place, one sixth place, and one 12th place.
This year’s Canadians Bantam ‘AA’ squad included Jarred Taylor, Carter Brown, Spencer Shortreed, Maxwell Williams, Finn Chalupsky, David Pryde, Tyler VanUden, Graeme Kitt, Cam Gushulak, Evan Krassey, Chase Ferguson, Thomas Oni-chuk, Alex Gustafson, Lynden Bruyere, Kobe Gardiman, Dylan Ossachuk, and Jonah Johnson.
