Kanucks Win Gold In St. Stephen!!!

After settling for a silver at their first tournament in York North, the Kent Kanucks were hungry for an opportunity at redemption when they arrived in St. Stephen Friday afternoon for the Rob Gullison tournament.

The team started on fire with a convincing 7-2 opening win over the Woodstock Slammers on Friday night, however, Saturday morning brought a different story with an equally as disappointing 4-1 loss to the Charlotte County Whalers that resulted in a long afternoon of contemplation for the coaching staff and players knowing the third and final game Saturday evening was to be against the host St. Stephen squad who already had secured two wins; beating both Woodstock and Charlotte County. The Kanucks arrived the arena with the full understanding that a loss or a tie in that game would almost certainly mean a disappointing late Saturday night drive home empty handed.

After reflection in the dressing room on the items the team need to look after to secure victory (every player contributing to the list), the game did not start off in the expected manner with the Kanucks falling behind 2-0 by the four minute mark of the 1st period. St Stephen's second goal, however, proved to be the catalyst for the Kanucks to go on an assault that is unmatched to this point in their young season. After closing the gap to 2-1 by the end of the first, the Kanucks would outscore St. Stephen 3-1 in the second, and take a 4-2 lead to the third period (a lead they would never relinquish). The third period produced more of the same relentless pressure with the puck seemingly never leaving the St. Stephen zone. At the final buzzer, the Kanucks walked away with a 6-3 victory that had assured them a spot in the Finals on Sunday morning. The shots in the game were an incredible 58 to 12 in favor of the Kanucks.

With the Charlotte County Whalers falling 2-1 to the Woodstock Slammers in the final regular game of the tournament, it setup a rematch between the Kanucks and the host St. Stephen team. Once again, the Kanucks took a reflective approach heading into that contest, and attempted to deal with no small measure of pre-game nerves knowing what was on the line. The response on the ice was nothing short of overwhelming with the team picking up right where they left off the night before, taking less than 30-seconds to get on the board with their first goal (the only one they would need) on route to a resounding 9-0 tournament final victory, and leaving little doubt that they were deserving of the gold!

Well done team...hoping this is only the first of many successful campaigns!