Bantam Tigers claim Silver Stick crown

January 18, 2017 · 0 Comments

By Jake Courtepatte

The Bantam AE Aurora Tigers are seeing silver.

They claimed the International Silver Stick tournament in Pelham, ON, over the weekend, the culmination of an undefeated run in Silver Stick play.

Incredible goaltending by Joey Livia and Andrew Zuliani led the Tigers to a perfect record in the qualifier in Georgina, spilling in to an undefeated round robin in the international tournament.

Aurora took down the likes of the Red Bank Generals, Tri Valley Blue Devils, and the Strathroy Jr. Rockets by a combined score of 32 – 2 to meet up with the host Pelham Panthers in Friday’s quarterfinal.

Swiftly disposing of the Panthers 7 – 1, the Tigers met the Halton Hills Thunder in the semifinal round, where Logan Kidder scored in the game’s second overtime period to send his team to the championship.

It was Kidder again who scored with four minutes left on the clock against the Centre Wellington Fusion, with the Tigers holding on to a 2 – 1 victory to claim the international title.

“This group of boys really has an amazing chemistry on and off the ice that, I think, has been a factor in their success,” said team manager Judy Coultes-MacLeod. “We had a few new players this year that have fit right in and gelled with the others. The team usually works hard for (head coach) Stewart and the rest of the staff who really know how to motivate the boys to play hard and have fun at the same time. All keys to the success of the team – a great group of boys and coaches that really enjoy being together, working together and playing together.”

Coaches Stewart Ritchie, Keith Scott, John Spicer, and Ron Cocking expressed their pride in the “discipline, determination, and comradery” in the team.
The Silver Stick is just the start of an exciting postseason for the Tigers, who finished second in York-Simcoe standings with a regular season record of 25-4-1. They will take on the Orillia Terriers in the first round of the OMHA playoffs beginning next week.