Atom select Blackhawks win at North Toronto tournament

The Caledon atom Selects were a happy bunch of guys after their holiday tournament triumph in North Toronto.

The Caledon atom select Blackhawks, sponsored by Cucci Hair Salon, Aspen Architectural and RBC Insurance won their second tournament of the year at the North Toronto Christmas event.

Caledon first faced the Ted Reeve Tornados and came out with a 9-0 victory at St. Mikes Arena. Marc Anthony DiNenno and Jesse Gatt both collected three goals and one assist to lead the way, while Philip Iozzo had a pair of goals and an assist, and Jake Mathieson had a goal and an assist. Other helpers came from Riley Telfer, Jacob Voogel, Vincent Figliomeni, Kyle Hauck and Mark Anderson. Blackhawk MVP was DiNenno.

The second game was against the Thornhill Rebels. Caledon came through with another strong defensive game, winning 6- 0. Goal scorers were Gatt, Mathieson, Figliomeni, Luca Dovigo and two for David Rebelo. Assisting on the goals were Figliomeni, Telfer, Brendan Mizzen, Aaron Hauck, Michael Arena, two for Iozzo and three for Shane Sommers, who was also MVP for the team.

The third round-robin game against the hosts brought a rematch with the Vaughan Tournament finalists. North Toronto was looking for revenge and needed a win to continue in their tournament. Gatt and Mizzen combined in the second to start the scoring. But North Toronto fought back and scored twice to end the second up 2-1. Caledon needed at least a tie to advance and started pressing. Early in the third, Telfer sent the puck to the point man Figliomeni who fired it on net and Rebelo banged in the rebound. Though both sides pressed, the game ended in a 2-2 draw. Blackhawk MVP honours were shared between the goalies Matthew Campanella and Ernesto Colacito.

The semi-finals saw Caledon go up against the team from Leaside. The Blackhawks were ready and came out hard and it paid off for Telfer, with help from Rebelo and Arena for Caledon's first goal. The second frame started with the Blackhawks ahead by one, and Gatt came out with a good period, scoring an unassisted marker, and then another from Anderson and DiNenno. Early in the third, Leaside got one goal back, giving them some life. Iozzo ended their hope for a come back with Caledon's fourth goal, with the assist going to A. Hauck. Game ended 4-1 and Blackhawk MVP was Gatt.

The final set up a match against league rivals the Brampton Rockets. The Blackhawks opened the scoring quickly on the first shift with a nice pass from Dovigo to Rebelo, who found a streaking Telfer, who one timed it by the goalie. The game remained 1-0 until late in the period, when two more goals were scored. First Gatt broke into the offensive zone, took a pass from Sommers, and with a nice high shot made the game 2-0. But the Rockets managed to get one back before the end of the first and the period ended 2- 1.

The second saw more of a see-saw battle until late in the period, when the Rockets tied the game on a two-man advantage. Caledon came back hard, with Iozzo getting the puck to Gatt, who netted his second of the game and the period ended 3-2 for the Blackhawks.

The third saw the Blackhawks miss a number of opportunities to put the game away, allowing the Rockets to score and tie the game, sending it into overtime. Early in the extra period, and with both teams with players in the box, it was four-on-four hockey. With a scramble in the Rocket zone, Gatt shot it on net, Rebelo took the long rebound and fired back towards the net while being checked to the ice. While sitting on the ice, after being checked in front of the net, Gatt managed to get his stick on the puck and watched it cross the line.

The Blackhawks captured the tournament giving up six goals in five games, while scoring 25. Blackhawk MVP in the championship game was Rebelo.