Feb 04, 2013 | JEnglish | 972 views
West London - Byron Optimist Cup - Atom MD Takes Silver
Coming into the sixth and final tournament of the year, the West London Atom MD Hawks knew just making the finals would be an accomplishment.
Ten teams arrived in London on a snowy weekend to complete in the Atom MD division of the Byron Optimist Cup. Based on a unique division of teams, 6 in Group A and 4 in Group B, the Hawks knew they would have to play three games in the round robin, win both a quarter final game and semi final game to advance to the finals.
Friday saw the first two games of the round robin. With a dominate win over the Brampton Bombers (6-0) and a hard fought win over the Vaughan Rangers Blue, the Hawks were looking good going into Saturday. A win over George Bell Titans Saturday morning secured a first place finish in the 6 team Group A.
The never before seen 1st versus 3rd and 2nd versus 4th quarter finals in Group A set up a re-match with the George Bell Titans six hours later. The Hawks came out strong earning a 4-1 victory and sending them to the semi finals.
The Hawks faced a tough test from the Vaughan Rangers Red team, who finished second in the Group B pool. Led by solid goaltending from Swan-Merrison, the Hawks earned a 2-1 victory.
The Hawks would now face the Waterloo Ice Wolves for the Championship. Scoring the first goal late in the second and the play of Govier in net gave the Hawks some confidence. The Wolves re-grouped in the third and scored three unanswered goals. With the goaltender pulled, the Hawks scored with just over one minute to go in the game. Unfortunately, there was to be no more magic and the game ended 3-2 for the Ice Wolves.
Congratulations Hawks on another successful tournament.
Coach Jim