Tagg’s goes undefeated to capture Tom Thumb tourney

Tagg’s was unstoppable last weekend as they won the ‘A’ title of the annual Tom Thumb tournament here.
The local squad faced-off against Skates and Blades (Fort Frances) on Sunday afternoon and skated away with a 4-2 win.
“They played great,” enthused Tagg’s coach Gord McCabe. “That is the first time we have beaten them [Skates and Blades] all year. It was pretty exciting, the kids were thrilled.”
After a scoreless first period, Zach McCool (assisted by Cody McCool) gave Skates and Blades a 1-0 lead in the second.
But Tagg’s roared back quickly. Nick Nault (Evan McCabe) evened the score just 30 seconds later, then Chris Bobczynski (assisted by McCabe) tallied twice to give them a 3-1 lead.
McCool netted his second of the game to bring Skates and Blades to within one but that was as close as they would get. McCabe then sealed the victory with an insurance goal with just 26 seconds to play.
“After they scored, we thought they had the upper-hand but our guys just dug a little bit deeper to pull it out,” remarked McCabe. “We needed a little bit of luck to win this one.”
Tagg’s had opened the 15-team tournament on Friday with a 6-1 win over the Emo Rockets. McCabe led the way the a hat trick while Nault added a pair.
D.J. Bombay netted a single. Assists went to McCabe (two), Bombay, and Jamie Kaun.
Later Friday, Tagg’s downed the KFD Hounds by a 5-3 score. Patrick Bobczynski netted a hat trick in that one while McCabe tallied twice.
In their next game, McCabe had four goals, with Patrick Bobczynski adding the other, as Tagg’s rocked the Sioux Travel Flames 5-1. Then they blanked Atikokan Canoe Canada 6-0 on goals by McCabe (two), Bobczynski, Ryan Shortreed, Jacob Witherspoon, and Joe Bruyere.
They later advanced to the ‘A’ final with a 6-4 win over the Red Lions in the semi-finals.
“We were down 2-0, and then it went back and forth for the rest of the game,” noted McCabe. “It was a good game.”
Shortreed and Patrick Bobczynski led the attack with two goals while Chris Bobczynski and McCabe each had one.
McCabe said the entire team did an awesome job during the tournament and it was nice to see them win on home ice.
“Ryan Shortreed [in the semi-final] was a big reason we got to the final,” he added. “[Goalie] Dale Watson did a great job–he made some great saves.”
McCabe noted his players were in the right place at the right time. “They played their positions well,” he enthused.
Skates and Blades’ route to the ‘A’ final began with a 2-2 tie against West End Motors (Fort Frances) in their opening game Friday. Then they cruised through the rest of pool play with shutouts against the KFC Colonels (7-0), Dryden Blues (6-0), and Emo OPP (4-0).
They advanced to the final after nipping West End Motors 1-0 in the semi-finals.
After opening with a 2-2 tie against Skates and Blades, West End Motors went on to beat the Dryden Blues 6-2 but then lost 5-4 to the KFC Colonels.
But they roared back to blank Emo OPP 3-0 for a re-match with Skates and Blades in the ‘A’ semi-finals.
< *c>Tigers triumph
Meanwhile, the Times Tigers (Fort Frances) captured the ‘B’ title earlier Sunday with a 7-1 victory over the Foodtown Fury (Fort Frances), avenging a 3-2 loss in their opening game of pool play on Friday.
The Tigers had jumped out to a 4-0 first-period lead on a hat trick by David Chambers and a single from Andrew Gobeil. Mike Jourdain picked up three assists in the period.
After opening up a 5-0 lead in the second on a goal by Brandon Thompson (Gobeil), Jordan Waton (Colin Barton) finally got the Fury on the scoreboard.
But that was all they would get.
Robert Ellis made it 6-1 later in the second, then Jourdain iced the game with the lone goal of the third.
The victory avenged a 3-2 loss to the Foodtown Fury in their opening game Friday morning. But then the Tigers rebounded with a 5-2 win over Tim Hortons. Jourdain and Gobeil each netted a pair of goals while Chris Cousineau got the other.
Then after tying the Red Lions 3-3 on goals by Jourdain (two) and Cousineau, the Tigers blanked the Emo Wings 4-0. Cousineau, Gobeil, Ben Bruyere, and Jourdain all scored in that one.
The Tigers then edged Emo OPP 2-1 in the ‘B’ semi-finals. Jourdain and Dakota Sisco were the marksmen.
The Fury had opened with a 3-2 win over the Tigers but then lost 4-2 later Friday to the Red Lions.
Then after tying the Emo Wings 3-3, Foodtown downed Tim Hortons 3-0 and the Sioux Travel Flames 3-1 to reach the ‘B’ final against the Tigers.