The Huntsville Atom Rep Otters proved they are a force to be
reckoned with after a dominating performance at the Oro Early Bird Tournament
over the weekend. With a perfect 5-0
record, the Otters skated their way to gold and proudly claimed the title of Tournament
Champions.
The talented young squad squared off against the host team, Oro
Thunder Friday evening in a well-balanced duel that ended in a 6-3 decision in
favour of the Otters.
Jake Hildebrandt got the Otters on the board early after a dazzling end-to-end rush that resulted in a shorthanded goal less than 3 minutes into the opening frame. Teammates Brayden Holman and Cole Patey followed suit and knocked in another pair of goals before the Thunder roared back with one of their own before the end of the first.
The see-saw battle continued into the second with the Otters adding two more tallies from Patey and line mate Logan Therrien and the Thunder notching their second goal of the game to bring the score to 5-2 for the Otters.
Goalie Owen Buczek showed some stellar glove work early in the third when the Thunder went on the attack and threatened the Otters lead. Soon after, the defensive pairing of Tysen Robb and Zak Varieur went to work on the blue line, refusing to allow their opponents any more chances to penetrate the zone.
The Otters netted one more goal before the buzzer sounded to bring the final score to 6-3.
Eager to face their next opponents, the Otters came out flying in their second game of the tournament against the visiting South Huron Sabres.
Goaltender Riley Knox had an impressive start, making a dynamite save early in the first to thwart an early scoring chance for the Sabres. Spurred on by their confident young net minder, the Otters kicked it into high gear and mounted a thunderous attack, punishing the Sabres goalie with hard shots from every angle. When it was all said and done, the Otters had found the back of the net 4 times with markers from Patey, Wes Farnsworth, Cameron Adams and Kyle Mattice.
Late in the second, the Sabres clawed their way into the Otters end and managed to poke one past Knox to get their team on the board. But the Otters answered back with another goal before the end of two, bringing the score to 6-1.
The young Otters found themselves in penalty trouble early in the third period and faced a dangerous 5 on 3 situation. With their mighty defenseman Cole Punchard in the box, the remaining defensive quartet of Robb, Varieur, Gray Patey, and Ben Power stepped up and accepted the challenge. The fearsome foursome battled hard to kill off the penalty, only allowing the puck to cross the Otters blue line once while the team was shorthanded.
With both teams back at full strength, the Otter snipers would continue their assault and add 3 more goals to the scoreboard (Patey (2), Holman) before the end of the lopsided contest. Final score 9-1 for the Otters.
Game 3 saw the Huntsville team pitted against the Pelham Panthers which saw the Otters continue their offensive onslaught and add another victory to their score sheet.
Feisty forwards Ben Aben, Brayden Holman and Ryley Digiacomo owned the corners for the Otters, setting up numerous Huntsville goals. By the end of two periods, the Otters had lit the lamp 7 times with markers from Patey, Mattice (2), Adams, Therrien, Farnsworth and Hildebrandt.
The Otters continued their relentless attack in the third, adding another three goals ( Robb, Farnsworth, Digiacomo) to bring the final tally to 10-0 in favour of the Huntsville squad.
In semi-final action, the first place Otters would square off against the fourth place Panthers for a back-to-back rematch of the previous game. Unfortunately for the Panthers, the Huntsville team still had some jump in their game and they pounced on the Panthers once again.
Cole Patey started the scoring early for the Otters after winning the draw and finding the twine less than two minutes into the first.
Goaltender Riley Knox stood tall in the Otters net, turning away a Panthers shot late in the period that allowed Hildebrandt to track down a loose puck and chip it up to Patey who fired it high and hard past the Panthers net minder for a 2-0 Otters lead.
Kyle Mattice started the second period with a pair of tallies for the Otters with helpers from Farnsworth and Aben, putting the Otters ahead by four.
The team continued to add to their insurmountable lead when Therrien won the face-off and dangled his way to the crease, tipping one past the Panthers goalie and moments later, defenseman Tysen Robb ripped one from the high slot and found the five-hole with 55 seconds left in the period.
Starting the third with a 6 goal cushion, the Otters refused to release their stranglehold on the Panthers and netted three more goals before the game ended, bringing the final count to 9-1 for the Otters.
With four wins under their belt, the Otters skated their way to the finals and another bout with the South Huron Sabres. But this game would prove to be a much stronger showing for the Sabres squad.
Early in the game, the well rested Sabres pressed hard, catching the Otters on their heels and testing the strength of the tired Huntsville team. But the Otters weren’t about to let their hard work go to waste, and dug deep to keep the game scoreless throughout the first period.
The Sabres continued their determined attack and finally managed to solve Buczek early in the second when they pushed the puck under the Otter goaltender to take a one goal lead. The Otters, now in the hole for the first time all weekend, fought back and returned the favour less than 30 seconds later when sniper Robb snapped a long shot from the blue line to tie the game.
With the final game knotted at one heading into the third, the Sabres came knocking on Buczek’s door forcing the Otters goaltender to make several brilliant saves to keep his team in the game. Teaming up with the Otters net minder to clear the zone were rock solid defensemen Patey, Punchie and Power, who collected numerous rebounds in the Otters end, allowing the talented Otters forwards to create some offensive scoring chances.
The team effort paid off late in the period when a scramble in front of the Sabres net made it easy for Patey to raise one over the extended glove of the net minder, putting the Otters up by one.
With the Sabres goalie out of the net for the dying seconds, the Otters battled hard to clear the zone and as the clock ticked down, the Huntsville team managed to collect their 5th win of the tournament and earn a well deserved championship title. Way to go Otters!