Caledon Lightning strikes in Niagara Falls, New York

The Caledon Lightning Select minor bantam hockey club arrived in Niagara Falls, New York Jan. 19 for the Niagara Sports Tournament.

The team went into this A tournament with hopes of just coming out with some good games and loads of fun. Little did they know that the good games would result in wins and the fun was beyond their imagination.

The tournament opened Saturday against the Tri- County team. With perseverance and goals from Daniel Pimentel, Matt White, Jacob McAree, Jamie Tarling and Shaun Fraser (unassisted) and assists from Villas Milani, Nicholas Arcuri (with two), McAree, Markus Ott and Fraser, the Lightning shut down the opposition with a win of 5- 1.

The next day, the challenge increased when the boys played Wheatfield. They were strong and the Lightning boys played hard, but the game ended in a loss of only 4-2. The goal scorers were Dale Reinhart (unassisted) and Ott, with assists from Arcuri and White.

The Caledon Lightning team was in this tournament all they way. The final game Monday morning against the Buffalo Bison was so exciting that the parents knew that this awesome Lightning team had a chance to go to the finals. It was by far a game to remember. With goals from McAree, Tarling (unassisted), Michael Slater, Fraser, Arcuri (unassisted) with assists from Slater, Mike Klein (a pair), Tarling and Terry Skaltsiotis, the result was an overwhelming win of 5-2.

The goalies, Arlen Dancziger and John Washington, gave core performances. The Wheatfield team went on to win the championship and the local side only lost to them by two goals.

It is really true that "it's never over 'til the Fat Lady Sings."

Thanks go out to the boys for their determination, never-letting-down attitude and just all around hard play, with thanks to the coaching staff Brad Washington, Nick Klein, Simon Slater, Ken McAree, manager Bob Skaltsiotis, statistician Mike Dancziger, photographer/videographer Villas Milani (who replayed the action for the boys to watch in the hotel room) and to the best cheering fans, the parents, who made more noise (with their Dollar store noise makers) than any fans there. It was an inspirational tournament.