by CONNIE TABBERT
Editor
WHITEWATER REGION — The Muskrat Novice Voyageurs returned home from the International Silver Stick Championship with memories they’ll remember for a long time.
The team of 12 hockey players, along with bench staff and family, spent a few days in the Niagara Falls area last week, not only playing hockey, but enjoying the sites.
Parent Derek McLaren noted the team did quite well, losing in the semi-final to Port Stanley Sailors, who went on to win the championship.
Coach Brent Gould had only praise for his young hockey players.
“They played well,” he said following practice at the Beachburg Arena Tuesday evening. “They were nervous in the first game, so we lost to a team we should have beat,” he admitted.
However, he noted the games against the Petawawa Patriots and the Penetang Flames “were two of our better games this year.”
Reviewing the games, McLaren noted the team played two games on Thursday, Jan. 10. The Voyageurs lost 4-0 to the Tavistock Titans and then went on to defeat the Petawawa Patriots 4-2.
“They were very happy to win that game as it was the first time they beat Petawawa this year,” he said.
Game three was a 6-4 win over the Blyth Brussels Crusaders.
This win put the team in second place in its pool after the round robin, McLaren said.
Saturday morning the team played the quarter-finals against the Penetang Flames, edging them 4-3 in a shootout. Cooper Gould earned a playmaker pin for not allowing any goals during the shootout.
Later that day, the team then faced off against the Port Stanley Sailors, where they were trounced 12-1.
“They were tuckered out from the quarter-finals,” McLaren said.
He noted the team started out nervous but did get better as the tournament went on.
Coach Gould noted Wyatt Lang earned a hattrick pin in the game against Petawawa and a playmaker pin for earning five points in a game, which was against Blyth.
This is a team where six of the nine players have never played at the Silver Stick level, and six who moved up from the house league level, he said.
This is a team that works hard, he said.
“We always preach work hard and have fun,” Gould said. “They are very good hockey players and as a team work hard.”
And fun they did have as well – spending time at the waterpark, going on the large, Niagara Falls ferris wheel, enjoying many meals together and playing many, many games of mini-stick hockey games in the hotel, he said with a laugh.
The community supported this team, not only prior to them going to the weekend event, but also while they were there, he said.
“We had lots of family support and community support,” he said. “We received lots of texts, emails and facebook messages.”
He noted the team did fundraising after winning the right to go to the International Silver Stick Championship, and did well, raising enough to cover the transportation costs, Gould said.
There are five games left in regular season and currently the Voyageurs are in second place, five points behind the Petawawa Patriots.
“We should finish second or third in the league” before the play-off season begins, he said.
