WOW!!!!! What a season it has been for a great bunch of 9 and 10 year old boys. TEAM meaning "Together Everyone Achieves More" was our motto for the season and it paid off in the end. Our final weekend together for the Provincial Alliance Championship proved to be our toughest test of the season. It was a season where this group of boys had 58 wins, 6 losses, and 5 ties (nearly 70 games). We made it to the finals in all five tournaments and won two. We faced a range of emotions. Happy tears, sad tears, anger, resiliency and triumph.
We started the Alliance Championship tournament with a 7-4 Loss to Hamilton. Hamilton was the type of team that made you play your best hockey to be able to beat them. We battled back from a 5-1 defecit to make it 5-4 at a crucial point in the game. Unfortunatley for us, Hamilton put a couple more goals past us and handed us our first loss in 15 games, which is still pretty impressive.
Our next game put us in more of a must win situation to set us up for a chance to get into the finals via semi-final game. We played a tough London team. We had some really good moments in the game that propelled us to victory. 3-2 Kitchener win.
Next up, we faced Stratford and played a strong team game to come out with a big win and a big confidence booster. We had our passing game working well and our defense were making good passes to our forwards to allow for a quick transition back into the offensive zone. This set us up for a semi-final rematch against London.
This game had many high's and low's and made for an emotional roller coaster. We were down 1-0 late in the first period after controlling much of the play. We had some confidence going into the 2nd period and you could sense the boys were hungry to tie this game up. We scored and did just that, making it 1-1. London responded quickly to take the lead again 2-1. Going into the third we were down and pressure was mounting. We scored to tie the game however, the goal was disallowed. Kind of felt like someone just punched you in the stomach. OUCH. We stuck to the game plan and pressed hard to score the tying goal. We quickly fired back another goal to take the lead. Our goaltender was awesome keeping this game close for his team giving them a chance to comeback and win. 3-2 was the final score for the Kitchener Rangers.
Now, we were off to the finals. A rematch of our playoff final that we won in a grueling two game series.
Kitchener Jr. Rangers Blue Vs. Hamilton Red. This was a great game for both teams. We both exchanged chances with great goaltending to keep this game at a 0-0 deadlock. The game had a quick pace and the refs let the boys play some beautiful hockey. The crowd was roaring thanks to the Kitchener Parents who were cheering their team on like never before. K-I-T-C-H-E-N-E-R!!!!!!
At the end of the 3rd period we huddled together before the sudden death overtime period and I asked the team what does TEAM stand for. They responded Together Everyone Achieves More. Well then, let's do this together as a team for each other. So they did just that with everyone chipping in and doing the little things to win. These boys gave all they had and more. With 6 mins remaining in overtime, we scored the game winning goal. The crowd erupted and the bench emptied as the celebrations began. We did it boys we did it!!! WE ARE THE ALLIANCE CHAMPIONS!!!!
From the day we picked our team, we really knew these boys had something special. These opportunities don't come around that often, but when they do we really need to hold on to the memories. Thank you to the players, parents, and coaches for a phenomenal and unforgettable season.
Coach Vince