Blackhawks first tournament a learning experience

The Caledon Blackhawks minor atom selects played their first tournament of the year the weekend of Nov. 23 in Vaughan.

The weekend results were not what they were hoping for but they did come away with a great experience.

They opened the tournament Friday night against the Guelph Jr. Storm a little nervous with not knowing what to expect, and it cost them as Guelph scored within the first minute of the game. Not letting it get them down, the Blackhawks tightened up their defensive game, led by goalie Steven Nelson, and fought back. Nelson made numerous saves during the first period keeping the team in the game allowing the offence time to score the equalizer, which David Ryan did, with Christopher Cola and Zachary Infusini assisting, with 2:40 left in the period.

The period ended tied and would stay that way well into the second period because of the continued strong play of Blackhawks goaltender Nelson. Just past the five-minute mark of the period the Storm broke though the defensive barriers the Blackhawks had maintained and scored 3 times in the next 3 minutes, taking a 4-1 lead.

The Storm continued their attack scoring one more time in the third before the Blackhawks finally responded, with Ryan netting his second goal of the game, from Nelson Learn and Infusini. The game ended 5-2. Coach's pick for player of the game was Steven Nelson.

Saturday morning the Blackhawks faced the Duffield Devils in their second game, hoping and needing a win, knowing that the Devil had won their first game. The game was very tightly fought in the early going as both teams goaltending and defensive units played at their best.

Russ McCanna turned away the Devils throughout the first period with the help of Tyler Gillis and Lucas Mizzi. The second period opened up with the Blackhawks taking full advantage of it scoring twice before the period was 2 minutes old. Chris Hunter and Michael Upshall provided the scoring with Upshall also drawing an assist on the Hunter goal. The Devils were not to give up they responded with a goal of their own. With the second period winding down the Blackhawks took the lead 3-1, when Upshall potted his second goal of the game with Steve Luongo drawing the assist.

The third period started slowly for the Blackhawks with the Devils scoring twice, tying the game before the period was half over. That got the Blackhawks started again as they scored less than a minute later taking the lead 4-3. Luongo scored the winner with Hunter getting the helper. The Blackhawks got what they needed - a win to keep their hopes alive for advancement in the tournament. Coach's pick for player of the game was Michael Upshall.

The Saturday afternoon game pitted the Blackhawks against a team from their league, the Brampton Bombers, with the winner having the best chance to advance in the tournament. The Bombers started very strong, while the Blackhawks were slow out of the gate.

Before they knew it the game was two and a half minutes old and the Bombers were leading 2-0. The Bombers added one more before the period was over and the Blackhawks enter the 2nd period down 3- 0.

The period started better for the Blackhawks with good chances by Hudson James and Infusini but they were turned aside by the Bombers. The Blackhawks finally broke through, with 6:50 left in the period, with Hunter scoring from Luongo. Blackhawks kept pressing but could not find the net.

The Bombers fought back and regained their three-goal lead with 3 minutes left in the period. The third period was back and forth with both teams having opportunities. Gavin Stone and Ethan Clarke had a couple of the best opportunities for the Blackhawks but it was only the Bombers that would score in the period.

The game ended 5-1 and with it the tournament for the Blackhawks. Coach's pick for player of the game was Infusini.

The team came away disappointed in not advancing but with the experience of the tournament that they will benefit from in future tournaments this year.

The Caledon Blackhawks would like to send a special thank you to the following tournament and player sponsors: MARS Canada Inc., Karen Wilcock Royal LePage RCR Realty, Probuilt by Michael Upshall, Chic's Auto Repair.