Apparently there is a secret formula for host teams looking to claim a championship banner at the annual Tiger Tourney staged by the Rayside-Balfour Minor Hockey Association: make sure that you are known as the RBMHA Tigercats - and look to throw a 2-0 shutout.
Both the U13 crew and the U18 elders followed exactly that same script to victory last weekend as Mika Barlow (U13) and Nathan Gerling (U18) posted the clean sheets in games against the Valley East Fountain Tire Mighty Pucks and the RBMHA Wildcats respectively.
After stopping the RBMHA Wildcats 6-4 in the U13 semi-final, Barlow and company received goals from Jackson Barrette (also scored four times in the SF) and Braeden Fleury for the win.
"We were communicating a lot more and putting a lot of effort into our game," said Barlow. "It's kind of hard because we're not used to communicating as much because of Covid."
After spending two years early on as a skater, the young puck-stopper decided to don the pads, in part "to be different from everyone else on the ice" at the age of seven, working on the growth of his game between the pipes since that time.
"I've gotten more aggressive, I've gotten better reflexes now and I communicate more with my defense," said Barlow. "I'm playing more out of my crease and taking away time and space."
That said, he received a very solid outing from his teammates, shutting down the Valley reps who advanced to the finals after edging Timmins Moneta Rec Orange 2-1 on goals from Bentley Dhinel and Noah Girard.
"We were really aggressive on the puck and not letting them get many shots on net," acknowledged Barlow. "And we were getting shots on their net."
Beaten soundly by the Tigercats earlier this year in league (NEHL) play, the Wildcats were definitely up to the test at hand the second time around.
"We weren't really expecting them to give us that much of a fight," admitted Tigercats' defenceman Evan Jolette, a 17 year old grade 12 student at Bishop Alexander Carter CSS. "It was hard to get that first goal."
"After it happened, we started to push even harder so that they would have a tough time coming back."
Jolette and the Tigercats' blueline brigade would be key in preserving the shutout, with the very outgoing young man quick to note that he is far more of a defensive defenceman - even if he did score the game-winning goal ("it's a very rare occasion for me to score") in their semi-final 4-1 win over the North Channel Lightning.
"I was noticing with their goalie that if you shoot from far away, she couldn't always see it really well," said Jolette. "I skated in on the right side and went for the top right-hand corner - and it went right past her."
With teammates Dylan Hamelin, Ty Cloutier and Eric Aubrey also lighting the lamp, it was up to Jolette and company to stick to their old tricks, spearheading a very effective transition game for the Tigercats.
"I try not to give them too much room to work with early, try and cut them off before they get into our zone," he said. "Then I try and take the puck away from them and send it up the ice as quick as possible."
While both the U13 and the U18 finals were certainly close, nothing could be the U15 division in terms of overall drama. Trailing 2-1 heading into the third period of play, the MGI Blue Devils from Kirkland Lake drilled home three unanswered goals in posting a 4-2 championship victory over the Timmins Northern Mechanical North Stars, with Carson Boyce and Brody Lefort scoring twice each for the Blue Devils.
Their spot in the final, however, came courtesy of a strike in the semi-final from Tristan Lawrence with just 12 seconds to play, breaking a 1-1 tie and lifting MGI past the CCMHA Little Ceasars 2-1.
In the remaining semi-final, a goal by Alex Ayotte with just under six minutes to play managed to hold up as the North Stars trimmed the RBMHA Tigercats 2-1.
One banner would make its way out to Copper Cliff as CCMHA FCR (Freelandt Caldwell Reilly) topped Walden Lake City Realty 5-0 in the U11 gold medal affair. Luca Sawyer scored twice to lead the way, with Luca Renelli, Braydon Chevrette and Blake Long adding one goal apiece.
