Eight's enough to clinch
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As the goals piled up Sunday in Strathroy, neither novice rep hockey team was in the mood to give up in Game 3 of the OMHA BB championship series.
Strathroy needed a win to stay alive, and played like it. Tillsonburg Ward’s Automotive Novice Tornadoes, winners of the first two games in the six-points series, 5-3 and 5-2, needed one more win to sweep – and played just as hard to get it.
It was the Tornadoes who prevailed 8-7 in Strathroy to clinch the 2013 OMHA BB championship.
“It was a back-and-forth marathon,” said Ward’s Auto coach Trevor Lamb. “The kids played good overall.”
Not their best game, he said, but the team played well enough to win.
“That’s all that counted.”
Tillsonburg had put Strathroy ‘on the ropes’ Thursday at the Kinsmen Memorial Arena.
“We went up early,” recalled assistant coach Scott McLean.
Winning by a three-goal margin raised their confidence, and defenceman Travis Lamb liked their chances with a trophy on the line.
“Um… good,” said Travis Saturday morning at the Tillsonburg Community Centre.
But the defenceman, with six goals to his credit this season, was also aware Strathroy would be playing hard.
“Really hard. We have to keep playing the way we have.”
“What’s the saying? ‘Forecheck, backcheck, paycheck,’” McLean reminded him.
“Yep,” Travis nodded.
“We played Strathroy early in the season in their home tournament, and they’ve improved considerably,” said McLean. “They are a hard-skating team, they move the puck well. We managed to get up in both games in the second… and held on for the win. Strathroy played hard right to the final buzzer. Our kids had a couple lulls in the third period, and we kind of held on for the wins.
“We hope to finish it on Sunday. From what we’ve seen of Strathroy, they could make it a tough series.”
Strathroy scored Sunday’s first goal, Tillsonburg tied it up. Strathroy scored a second goal, Tillsonburg tied it again, then went up 4-2. Strathroy replied with two… and so it went.
“The last half of the game it went back-and-forth,” said Lamb. “Each team would score a goal and it was pretty exciting for the fans… maybe not for the coaches,” he added with a smile, “but a pretty exciting game.”
Tillsonburg’s Beau Jelsma scored the game-winner with 2:30 left to play, and the Tornadoes were able to win 8-7.
“A ton of credit to our guys,” said Lamb. “Even when Strathroy scored, and we were down, our kids kept battling, didn’t give up at all.
“They were sort of calm throughout the game, didn’t get down on themselves. And the assistant coaches did a great job, I think, keeping the kids upbeat and giving them a boost in confidence when we needed it.”
Hayden McLean scored first for Tillsonburg, and Beau Jelsma twice, still in the first period. Owen Harris got an early second-period goal, and Hayden McLean added three more for a hat trick. Jelsma made it eight for the Tornadoes, who had not given up seven goals in a game all season.
“We have to give Strathroy a lot of credit too,” said Lamb. “They had their backs to the wall and put everything into it trying to force a Game 4. They’re a good team and they played hard. They didn’t give up. We give them a lot of credit.”
The winning team was awarded OMHA championship hats, medals, and the Novice BB Trophy.
“Then we went back to one of the parent’s houses for a get-together. It was sort of short-lived, because they’re young kids,” he smiled. “Sunday night, too, so they all needed to get to bed. They had tons of energy playing (with a 4 p.m. start) and still had tons of energy playing at the house afterwards.
“It’s unbelievable,” Lamb summed up. “It’s a special group of kids, a special group of parents. It was a total team effort all the way through.”
The Tornadoes also had two affiliate players who helped out Sunday (Jack Soares and Nick Behman).
“And we had a boost before the game,” said Lamb, noting the addition of their team captain, Brandon Balazs, who was out of the lineup for about seven weeks with a broken arm.
“We weren’t sure about his status until after the second game, Thursday at home. He got clearance Saturday and he was good to go Sunday. It was nice to have him back.”
A third-year novice, Balazs had started playing novice rep hockey at the age of six.
“This year was one of those special years and he (Balazs) deserved to be a part of it at the end.”
The Tornadoes’ goalies, said Lamb, made big saves when they needed them.
“They did make some big saves when we needed it. When we weren’t working hard enough in front of them, they kept us – and the score – close. They deserve a lot of credit too, especially in their first full year of playing goal at the rep level.”
The Ward’s Auto novice season continues with Southern Counties playoffs still in progress. Second in their A round-robin behind Ingersoll, the Tornadoes will host Burford in a semifinal. Ingersoll will host Plattsville.
“The standings just came out last night (Sunday),” said Lamb. “I think we have to play it by the end of the month.”
OMHA BB Finals
Tillsonburg 8, Strathroy 7
Game 3
Tillsonburg scoring: 1. Hayden McLean; 2. Beau Jelsma (Nolan McCrossin); 3. Beau Jelsma (Brandon Homick); 4. Owen Harris (Brandon Balazs); 5. Hayden McLean; 6. Hayden McLean (Jack Soares); 7. Hayden McLean; 8. Beau Jelsma.