TNT Minor Bantam AE, CHAMPIONS IN PITTSBURGH.
This band of brothers came together as one and triumphed in the Three Rivers Tournament.
The Three Rivers Tournament was this teams third and final tournament of the year and their second in three weeks.
The weekend saw many fun and amazing times had by players, coaches and parents.
Day one (Thursday); the team left at 7:30am from the NTRC on a coach bus. After a long day of travel the day ended with the Penguins vs Stars hockey game.
Day two, the team went to watch the Penguins practice and in the evening play their first game against the Cazenovia Cheifs AA of the Western New York Amateur Hockey League (WNYAHL). It was a very hard and rough game, they grow their boys big in the USA!! Our team persevered and they came out on top 4 to 2.
Day three, we had an early morning game against Aurora Ice AA. TNT came out on top with a 5 to 1 victory. Later in the day we played against the Webster Cyclones AA also from the WNYAHL. We fell behind early in the first trailing 2 to 0, then 3 to 1 but the team battled hard to tie it up by the end of the second period. The game ended 5 to 4 for TNT with the winning goal scored at 2:53 remaining in the third.
TNT finished the round robin in first place.
The Semifinal game was against the Cyclones again. Minor Bantam AE was rolling by this time and came away with a 7 to 0 victory.
The stage was set for the Championship game. TNT vs Cazenovia. These teams came out to play. Cazenovia came out fast and hard and TNT countered just as hard. No goals in the first. In the second period TNT started the scoring at 10:08, in less then 2 minutes Cazenovia evened it up. Fifty seconds later another goal against TNT, 3 to 1 going into the third. Both teams battles hard and the physical play was outstanding!! The coaching staff called a timeout and calmed the boys down, gave some serious words of inspiration and told them what they had to do. Shortly after, TNT scored making it 3 to 2, 10 seconds after that, 3 to 3!!! First goal of the tournament for Alec "Schwarzenegger" and it couldn't have come at a better time. The rest of the game was a blur as both teams strived to finish the game in regulation. With 25 seconds left Oliver netted the game winner after a mad scramble in front of the net, his 8th point of the tournament, his second game winning goal and our eventual tournament MVP.
As manager of the team it is impossible to express the pride this coaching staff has for these 17 young men. We looked sharp being the only team dressing up to every game, walking into the rink turned some heads...they knew this team from Canada meant business. The team was well behaved and respectful in every way possible. Well done!!
With all this competition fun was had by all. Even during these intense games the coaching staff had a great time on the bench. Coach Frank and Scott had some serious falls off the bench but showing some resiliency they were able to continue...although the ribbing
will last for a loooooonnnnngggg time.
The parents may have had a good time as well...LOL...actually I know they did.
The team would like to thank our bus driver John from Denny's Bus Lines who got us everywhere on time. In fact the players invited him to be part of the team picture on the ice, that's him on the far left taking a knee.
All in all a weekend none of us will ever forget. Thanks to everyone that made it happen.
Please share this article on your social media websites, links at the top of the page.
