The SD Davis & Associates Bantam Blues captured the Bradford Bulldogs Blue & Gold Classic Tournament championship this past weekend.
From start to finish this championship was won with a complete team effort. Every line and every player contributed in a huge way to bring this championship home to Dundas. The Bantam Blues were backstopped by great goaltending and a no-quit commitment from the players. The boys won tough puck battles, fore-checked hard and back-checked even harder. Even after being down 2-0 in one game, the boys never gave up and came back to earn a 2-2 tie. Their hard work earned the boys a spot in the championship game, going without a loss for a 2-0-2 tournament record.
Then in the Championship game, the Bantam Blues went down 1-0 to the Kingston Canadians at the beginning of the 2nd period. Not losing faith, the boys battled hard and the game was tied by Luke Gustin at 4:32 of the 3rd period with a wrist shot from the high slot. The game would end tied 1-1 and then proceed to 5 (yes, that's FIVE) overtimes! The tournament used a 4-on-4, 3-on-3, 2-on-2 and 1-on-1 format for the overtimes. In the 5th overtime, Brett Parry broke free of his opponent and skated the length of the ice to slide the puck under the goalie for the championship winner.
Team members from left to right include:
Front Row: Will Shaw, Jesse Davis, Scott Van Tuyl, Noah Doan
Second Row: Ethan Truman, Parsa Norouzian, Luke Gustin, Hunter Lancia, Brett Parry
Third Row: Trevor Ward, Justin Kuhr, Dylan Dobbs, Colton Roberts, Bradley Wright, Justin Larsh, Louis DiSalvo, Jesse Lecker-Fratoni
Team Staff: Mike Gustin (trainer), Lee Wright (asst coach), Dave DiSalvo (asst coach), Jeff Van Tuyl (manager), Brian Parry (head coach)
Thanks for a great weekend of hockey boys!