Bantam selects knock off favourites at tournament

That's a select team?

That was the phrase everyone was repeating at the John MacDonald Memorial A Tournament in St. Catharines Feb. 9-11 as the Caledon minor bantam select Blackhawks finished third out of 14 teams in their division.

The Hawks' 1st game was against the high-flying Kitchener Rangers. This fast-paced game saw action in both ends of the rink as each team constantly attacked. Stellar goaltending by both Kitchener and the Hawks Taylor Elkins kept the puck from crossing the goal line and resulted in a 0- 0 tie.

This game went into the record books as the 1st time in 18 years that a scoreless game was recorded with neither side receiving a penalty.

This game was also the first time this season that the Hawks didn't register at least one goal in a game.

The Hawks next game was against the 1st-place team from Cambridge.

Anthony Gasbarre opened the scoring just 27 seconds into the game on a set play from Robert Keszeg and Justin Lollino. This quick goal stunned the Cambridge players and they never really regained their composure. In the 2nd period the Hawks struck again when Damian Commisso finished off some superb passing between Kyle Sammut and defenceman Gasbarre. The frustrations began to show on the Cambridge bench as they fell further behind and they began taking penalties. With Cambridge down a man, Sammut's magic stick rifled the puck past the goaltender to go up 3-1.

In the third period the Hawks continued to control the play, keeping the pressure on the dejected Cambridge squad. In a desperate attempt to get back in the game they pulled their netminder with more than three minutes left in the game. This provided Keszeg the opportunity to put the final nail in the coffin and eliminate Cambridge from the tournament.

Word of the upset spread through the complex that Cambridge had been eliminated. Spectators were beginning to wonder where this select team had come from.

The next team to fall to the Hawks was the 1st place team from Waterloo. This game was a see-saw battle as each team traded goals. Again the outstanding passing game of the Hawks dominated as Clarke Stewart and Sammut combined as a set play to find Commisso who hammered home the puck to tie the game at 1-1. The Hawks then repeated as Commisso and Christopher Rotondo set up Sammut for his 2nd goal of the tournament. The Hawks then went ahead 3-1 when Michael Bellisario finished off a feed from Warren Stroud. By now the glass was lined with spectators all wanting to get a glimpse of the Blackhawk powerhouse. The Hawks buried Waterloo in the 3rd with their 4th goal when Commisso converted Keszeg's pass into his 2nd goal of the game. The Hawks eliminated Waterloo with a final score 4-3.

The Blackhawks finished the round-robin with the third best record of the tournament and advanced to the semifinals against another Kitchener team.

First-period action was fast and furious as both teams rushed the puck down the ice, each having their opportunity to go ahead dashed by stellar goaltenders. Kitchener was first to score in the second period, but their lead was short lived. With Kitchener down a man the Hawks were on the attack. Sammut came out of the corner with the puck. He held on to it, and held on, and held on, until he found Harry Gaebler open on the point.

Sammut slipped the puck back to the point and Gaebler let loose a boomer that caught the top corner of the net to tie the game 1-1. Third period action saw our Hawks go down 3-1 but they didn't give up. With two Hawks in the penalty box Sammut and Gaebler were let loose to wreck havoc on the Kitchener defenders. Sammut barrelled over the Kitchener blue line at full speed while Gaebler crashed the net. Sammut's nifty pass across the front of the net allowed Gaebler to roof the puck to bring the Hawks within one goal. The shocked Kitchener team was now in damage control mode and were desperate to just run down the clock. The Hawks simply ran out of time and fell to Kitchener 4- 3.

Coaches Joe Maiolino, Harry Gaebler, Andy Moszynski, Dante Commisso, trainer Julio Gasbarre, and manager Judy Commisso would like to congratulate all the boys for their determination and hard work.