Caledon Lightning bantam selects turn on the red light

The Caledon bantam Lightning squad took home the trophy from the Downsview tournament. Shown are (first row, l to r) Travis Rumney, Jamie Rowley, Cole Lovell, Evan Carriere, Justin Tabani, John West-Carvalho, Dylan Eagles, Mitch Theeuwen, Johnathan Gizzarelli, Peter Bowman, Josh Lemont, (second row) assistant coach Jeff Theeuwen, Logan Stewart, Nicholas Ruggiero, Head coach John Carvalho, Mackenzie Footman, Dylan Stafford, Michael Spagnuolo, Corey Roberts, Trainer Russell Roberts, assistant coach Tony Ruggiero.

The Caledon Lightning Bantam team won the championship at the Downsview tournament in Toronto Feb. 3 to 5.

Caledon 5,

Downsview 0

Who said Lightning never strikes the same location twice? The Caledon Bantam team were unstoppable sinking five pucks, uncontested. Goal scorers were John West-Carvalho (2), Cole Lovell, Peter Bowman and Justin Tabani. Assists came from John Gizzarelli, Dylan Stafford, Michael Spagnuolo, Evan Carriere (2), Travis Rumney, Mitch Theeuwen and Peter Bowman. Goalie Josh Lemont was outstanding in net with a well-deserved shutout. MVP for the game was defenceman Justin Tabani.

Weston 2,

Caledon 1

Jamie Rowley held the team in the game with his exceptional goaltending, especially during a rough second period when penalties caused the Lightning team to play short handed for most of that period. Finding the back of the net for the Lightning was Evan Carriere, unassisted. Evan was also named MVP for the game.

Caledon 2,

Etobicoke 2

The Lightning once again created thunder in the stands. Dylan Stafford scored his first goal of the tournament assisted by Michael Spagnuolo. Peter Bowman picked up a pass from Mitch Theeuwen behind the net and seeing defenceman Dylan Eagles quietly slipping into the slot made a perfect stick to stick pass which Dylan buried top shelf. Eagles also played a strong game defensively and was named the MVP for the game.

Championship Game

With points accumulated per period and per game, the Lightning bagged 2nd place by a slim 0.5 margin which gave them the opportunity to play in the finals against the Weston Dodgers on Sunday night.

Coming off a loss against this team, the Lightning struck back with a feisty game play. After a slow start, the team was down 2-0 but with a return to the physical play that gave them success in previous games, the players fought back to end the third period with a 2-2 tie. Defencemen Footman and Roberts both played strong physical hockey and their efforts helped support the teams overall success at the tournament. Goal scorers during regular play were Lovell and Carriere with assists from Theeuwen, Ruggiero and Bowman.

The Dodgers were determined to win during the 10- minute 4-on-4 overtime period. However, goalie Jamie Rowley had other plans and gave a dazzling display of goaltending holding off shot after shot and keeping the team alive. Both player benches were feeling the tension as the first three players were chosen for the shootout. Theeuwen started with a fast skate down the ice but his deke was stopped short of the line. Next up was Lovell, who wristed a bullet shot, just missing the top of the net. The third player was John West-Carvalho who performed his trademark back-hand shot to perfection putting the puck just behind the front crossbar of the net. The championship was sealed.

All the players were on the ice, it was a rewarding victory. However, it was goalie Rowley that won the game, successfully stopping 32 shots including all three shots from the opposing team during the shootout. Jamie was named MVP of the game. Congratulations to all of the boys for a welldeserved win!

The players, coaching staff and parents want to thank sponsors Cavalier Transportation, Computer Enhancement Corporation, Aquicon Construction, Sylvana Tabani from Royal La Page and Trendway Transportation. The championship trophy is residing at Lloyd Wilson arena in Inglewood.