The Haldimand U21A travelled to Mooretown, Ontario this past weekend (Jan 8th-11th) with hopes of capturing a second International Silver Stick win in the last 4 years.
Going 1-1-1 through the round robin with help from the U18 AP's and guys stepping up for players' commitments to College and University Thursday and Friday, they secured a berth to Saturday's semi-final.
Every year Mooretown Minor Hockey has players in the younger divisions be helpers for the big guys - "Runners" they call them. Haldimand U21's have had Andrew Jeffries, a U11 player help out the past 2 seasons from filling up water bottles, locking the dressing room, delivering the pre-game lineup, and always locked into the game, standing bench side as his River Kings U21 takes to battle at Silver Stick for the weekend, Andrew was always at the ready with the goal horn for when Haldimand scored.
On Saturday, the U21's would relive their younger days with early mornings as young kids and play at 8am. Once locked into the semi-final at 5pm, Andrew had made up his mind to skip his own game to support the River Kings as they compete to get to the Silver Stick Championship. The U21s insisted that Andrew not miss his game at 3:50pm in Wallaceburg. With the rinks running behind at Silver Stick, the U21s would make a lasting impression on this young player. They jumped in their cars and drove to Wallaceburg to cheer on Andrew and the U11 Mooretown Jr Flags. Players walked in the dressing room, fist pumping players and surprising their Runner. They cheered from the stands as Andrew scored 2 goals to get a 3-3 tie.
The River Kings would head back for the semi-final game in Mooretown against the Welland Tigers. Unfortunately they would drop the game 1-0 in a fantastic game and weekend of hockey.
Sometimes Hockey is more than just a game. It’s always nice to make the final game and bring the hardware home. But just knowing the difference you can make, memories that will last a lifetime and the Hockey Family you’ve become, have a little more shine than trophies. All the Players, Coaches and Families of these young men who made a difference should be commended for their leadership and values. We applaud you all!
...... we could have used Andrew's 2 goals!
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