U11A | Oct 17, 2024 | Troy Vanderburg | 442 views
Haldimand River Kings U11A Win Garden City Early Bird Tournament
The Haldimand U11A River Kings competed in a Early Bird Tournament in Garden City on Sept 27-29. This tournament would have 12 teams fighting for the championship and would be the first real games for our boys to compete in for the 2024-25 season.
The boys started Friday morning off against the Orillia Terriers. These Kings were pumped for their first game of the year and it showed. They put the pressure on all game and came out with a 6-1 win. Their next game was later that day against the Leaside Flames. The Kings picked up where they left off from the morning game and beat the Flames by a score of 4-1
Saturday the River Kings would have two tough matchups against the LaSalle Sabres and the Oakville Rangers. The morning game was against the Sabres. The Kings came out on fire with scoring two goals in the first and leading 2-0 after one period. LaSalle came back in the second with two goals of their own to tie it up at 2-2. The third period was penalty filled but Haldimand was able to get a power play goal to win the game by a score of 3-2.
It was now off to Saturdays night game against Oakville. This game would represent the two undefeated teams. This game was back and forth with scores of 0-0 after the first and 1-1 after the second. The Rangers scored midway through the third period only to be matched by the Kings a short time later. With the score tied at 3-3 and Oakville having the tiebreaker by goal percentage the River King pulled their goalie. With steady pressure on the Rangers goalie the Kings were unable to put one in the net and Oakville was able to ice the puck and score with seconds remaining. Final score would be 3-2.
On to Championship Sunday. The Kings would match up against the Burlington Eagles who finished first in the other Pool. This game was a back and forth game. With no scoring in the first, Haldimand was able to put one on the board to go up 1-0 after two periods. The Eagles were able to get one of their own to tie the game 1-1 after three. It was off to a 3 vs 3 overtime for five minutes. The Kings had the puck for most of the overtime in the Eagles end but couldn't solve the Burlington goalie. It was off to a shootout where the Kings would prevail 1-0 for the win.
It was off to the Championship game against the strong Oakville team we played the night before. You could tell before the boys even hit the ice that this was going to be a payback game. With Haldimand controlling the majority of the play the score remained 0-0 after the first. With Oakville getting frustrated by the reluctant forecheck they started to take penalties and the Kings would capitalize twice to go up 2-0 after two. With the Kings not letting up they were able to pot one more to win the championship by a score of 3-0 .
This was a complete team effort. What a great way for these Kings to start their year off and head into their regular season. The River Kings scored 21 goals for, while only giving up 7 goals against.
Congrats to the U11A River Kings!!!!!