Jan 13, 2015 | Dave Laughlin | 1178 views
Rangers Grind Their Way to GOLD at Gretzky Tourney
Over the Christmas Break, KJR Blue participated in the annual Wayne Gretzky Invitational Tournament in Brantford. After seven gruelling games over four days, against tough competition, Team Blue lands their second straight tournament gold.
Our run to gold started in small town St George with an early morning shutout of Halton Hills 2-0. Later that afternoon, we faced always-strong Hamilton Huskies White. After falling behind 2-0, the team clawed back to take a 3-2 lead. However, a Husky late surge coupled with KJR mental breakdowns proved costly as Hamilton deservedly prevailed 4-3.
The following day, our defensive play stepped up, allowing just two total goals in two games as we grinded out a pair of victories over Stoney Creek and North London. Despite the impressive 3-1 round robin record, our GF-GA mark was less than ideal, thus we drew the 4th seed entering the quarterfinals on Monday morning.
Our QF opponent was a team we know so well, the Cambridge Hawks. KJR held a 2-goal lead in the third period and narrowly escaped with a 3-2 win. What the staff liked the most (other than the win - LOL) was how we improved our defensive zone coverage, compared to the week before when the Hawks scored 3 goals late to tie.
The semis brought an unfamiliar foe to the KJR table - the Ancaster Avalanche. The word "grind" keeps coming to mind and this game was another grind for the boys. The Rangers once again played dominant defence and capitalized on scoring chances, resulting in a narrow 2-1 win, punching their ticket to the championship final against, you guessed it, Hamilton White.
Personally, the final was a blur to me. Within seconds, we were down 1-0 but the bench did not hang their heads. In fact, they controlled the rest of that period and entered the second with a 2-1 lead. A lead they would never relinquish, capturing gold 3-1.
There are many amazing facts, stats and memories that everyone can take from this tournament. I have a few I'd like to share:
1. We gave up only 10 goals in 7 games, almost half of which came in Game 2. The final 3 "knockout" games resulted in only 4 goals against.
2. The kids cheering for Luke in the lobby when he got his gold medal and picture with Walter Gretzky. The poor dude was sick all weekend and couldn't step foot on the ice.
3. I said to Ethan "Hey man, you scored the Gold Medal Winning Goal. How does that feel?". His reply "What? I scored? Come on!". You don't see that everyday when a player scores the biggest goal of the tourney and, well, he didn't know.
To close, that's three tournaments in the books with all three resulting in trips to the final. 2 golds and a silver. Impressive. Be proud of these boys.
Our last tourney is the West London Optimist, starting January 30th. The schedule is not yet set but we know there are 10 teams, all of which are solid...the stiffest competition yet! For KJR to hit their fourth tournament final, they will need to work hard and focus over the next few ice times and be ready to "grind" out some third periods.
Go Rangers Go!