Owen Harris gets mad, even
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Owen Harris got mad at himself for a penalty which led to a late, game-tying goal.
But he got even with Strathroy just 1:15 later via the PK Construction Inc. Roy Beechey Memorial Rep novice championship game-winner.
"I felt very upset," said the Tillsonburg Ward's Automotive Novice defenceman and captain Sunday afternoon in the Colin Campbell Arena. "I thought that maybe we were going to lose."
Harris drove up the middle of the ice on his game-winner, pulling away from a Strathroy defender near the offensive blueline and cutting out on the left wing, before firing a hard shot home to round a hat trick with 1:25 remaining in regulation time.
"I was kind of worried we were going to lose so I got pretty mad and I wanted to score, so I scored."
Harris may not always be able to simply will the puck into the back of the net. But he is the type of novice-division player who is essentially in potential scoring position when he picks it up behind his own net. His second of three goals on the game was even prettier. Anticipating and picking off a Strathroy lead pass outside his own blueline, Harris headed 'north' one-on-three, beating a trio of opponents prior to finishing with a beautiful deke to tie the game at three with 7:24 remaining in the third.
Harris provided the back end of a one-two combination comeback punch, opened just 27 seconds earlier as Trevor Nunn lifted home a four-footer from the right edge of the crease, assisted by Brandon Homick and Johnathon Buck. Nunn also gave the Ward's novices a brief 4-3 lead with 3:56 to play, unofficially assisting his own goal by drawing a tripping penalty 38 seconds earlier.
"I was kind of happy they were getting a penalty," admitted Nunn, who on the ensuing power play was denied once on the left wing, regained the puck and circled the net before tucking it home inside the right post on a nifty wraparound with assists to Harris and Brandon Rosehart. "I shot it and got my own rebound and went around the net and then scored."
Strathroy's Rene Vanbommel responded however, driving to the Tillsonburg net to bury a defender's rebound with 2:40 to play, while Harris was in the penalty box.
Harris had opened scoring at the 2:32 mark of the first period, assisted by Clayton Burgess and Evan Deutsch.
Strathroy's Josh Mintea responded 33 seconds later, and the visitors eased into a 2-1 lead 1:59 prior to the end of the second frame, courtesy of Tretyon Kington. Griff Cane extended Strathroy's lead to 3-1 2:49 into the third period, setting the stage for an exciting home stretch, and ultimately, satisfying Tillsonburg victory.
"Because in the end we ended up winning," explained Nunn. "We played our hardest and won."
"We had lots of hard competition," agreed Harris, noting that is better than winning too easily. "Then it will just get boring."
'Boring' was not a problem through Sunday's final, agreed his coach and father, Duane.
"No, no, no," he laughed. "We like to keep it interesting, this team.
"They stuck to it and gutted out a really big win for us - it was nice to see. It's a big lift for us, that's for sure."
Harris was proud of the effort for a team including just two returnees from last year's powerhouse novice squad. It's a big step from tyke to novice rep, said the coach, pleased with progress thus far.
"We've come a long, long ways," he concluded. "They've worked hard, learned a lot and this will do great things for their confidence. Winning breeds confidence and when you're down and come back to win, that shows even more."
St. Marys 5, Tillsonburg 1
Harris had the lone Ward’s Automotive novice goal as Tillsonburg opened the round-robin portion of the tournament on the wrong end of a 5-1 decision.
Tillsonburg 8, West Mall 1
Nunn had a goal and three assists to pace the Tillsonburg attack, Brandon Homick two goals and a helper, Harris a goal and an assist, Jordyn McFadden, Remi Heide, Chase Beres and Johnathan Bouck a goal apiece, and Alex Holmes, Nathan Ryksen, Clayton Burgess and Eric Allen an assist each.
Tillsonburg 4, Strathroy 4
Harris had two goals and an assist for Tillsonburg, Homick and Bouck a goal each and Duetsch, Nunn and Brandon Rosehart an assist apiece.
Tillsonburg 5, St. Marys 1
Harris had two goals an a helper and Homick and Bouck a goal and an assist each as the Ward’s novices reversed their opening result in semi-final play. Nunn added a goal and Allen, Rosehart and Ryksen an assist apiece.