The Mooretown U18 Rep team entered the Regional Silverstick Tournament to begin a quest: for a banner and an entry for the International Silverstick tournament. The team split their round-robin games with a win and a loss to advance to the semi-final games. A clutch semi-final come-from-behind victory versus the top team in the league secured the U18 team a banner. The team dropped the final game but secured the invitation to International Silverstick.
The U18 Rep team began the quest in a game versus Lambeth. A 4-1 deficit was not enough to discourage the team in red. They kept moving toward their goals and dramatically defeated the Lancers 5-4. The evening game versus the Petrolia Oilers was a setback as our hometown squad fell 6-0. However, with the round-robin games completed, the Flags advanced to the semi-finals.
The semi-final game versus the league-leading Lambton Shores Predators was for a banner to hang in the rafters of the Mooretown Sports Complex. The victory seemed out of reach after the Predators took the lead in the third period. With under two minutes to go, the Flags tied the game. In the final 20 seconds the winning goal was scored! At that time they earned either a finalist or champion banner. The championship game versus Petrolia led to a loss to the home team, but following the game, the U18 Rep team accepted the finalist banner and an invitation to the International Silverstick tournament.
The team was fearless in their quest, like the Wizard of Oz, this team ventured into the Emerald City, Petrolia's green, to show they had heart and courage! The goalies, Nolan Beaudoin and Garry Bennett were Robin Hood, stealing goals for a bigger purpose. The defence, Ryder Avery, Nolan Bourdage, Nolan Devine, Drew O'Neil, and Holden Petrie, protected their zone from opposing players like The Men in Black, who protected Earth from aliens. The forwards, Jace Burgess, Austin Dalgety, Jayden Dewhirst, Nate Harris, Colin Haskins, Liam Hazzard, Max Maoirat, Jordan Muir, Ethan Rosseel, Nolan Stewart, and Reid Whitmarsh, were Fast and Furious as they crashed the net and pursued the puck. The search for the prize was accompanied by Dillon McCowan and Kyle Dupuis, who were like Indiana Jones in pursuit of the Holy Grail.
The Flags navigated the Matrix of a weekend thanks to their coaches, Mark McCabe, Trevor Bogaert, Nolan Farr, Blake Howard, and Jason Bourdage, who always advise choosing the red jerseys.
