Jan 29, 2013 | MPletch | 569 views
Walkerton Prestige Team Takes Home Gold from Hanover Tournament
Walkerton Prestige team played their first game against Bruce Peninsula at 10:30am on Saturday, January 26th. Bruce Peninsula got on the scoreboard first ending the first period down a goal, but the following periods were dominated by Walkerton.
Denver Turnbull blasted one past the goalie on a pass from Ryan Goetz, tying the game 1-1. Minutes later, Joel Pletch got an unassisted goal as he banked it off the goalie on a backhand shot. This advanced Walkerton 2-1. The period ended with one more goal by Brenden Hinds. The assists went to Jayden Dietz and Nathaniel Illerbrunn.
Midway through the third period, Ryan Goetz scored on a beautiful pass from Noah Currie. The final goal came at 2:22 of the third period as Goetz fed the puck to Pletch, who passed it off to Currie. Currie didn't waste time scoring. The final was 5-1 Walkerton.
The second game of the tournament was at 4:45pm versus the Ilderton Jets. It was a real nail-biter which kept the crowd on the edge of their seats. The opponents opened the scoring, but a goal by Joel Pletch evened it at 1-1. There were phenomenal saves by both goalies with end to end action. We went ahead, 3-1 but the Jets inched back. A penalty by us allowed the Jets to tie it up 3-3. It went into a five minute overtime and Walkerton took two penalties with less than 3 minutes left. We played tight and our penalty killers were on their game, resulting in no scoring. During the shoot out, Brenden Hinds scored as it hit the post and zip between the pipes. Jared Pletch stopped their captain next. In the second round, Jayden Dietz deked and went to his backhand to score, making it 5-3. When Ilderton's player shot to glove side, it went past Pletch, making it 5-4. The last round saw Denver Turnbull shoot to the blocker side as he took the game home for Walkerton in an eventful ending. It was truly teamwork that saw the Prestige boys win this important and exciting game.
The finals saw Walkerton matched up against Georgian Shores at 7:15pm. There were solid chances by Walkerton which were denied by the goalie. The first goal came at 6:45, as Joel Pletch pocketed Ryan Goetz's rebound from the side of the net. Constant movement on defense from Stumpfle, Turnbull, and Dietz made Pletch's job light in the second and third periods. The determination of the Walkerton crew was evident as they did not let up on their scoring chances. Persistence by Thomas Crummer paid off late in the second period as he netted, an assurance goal, making it 2-0. The third goal of the game was tipped in by Illerbrunn, who repeatedly positioned himself in the goalie's line of view. An end to end rush by Tanner Stumpfle was denied at 5:20 for the third period. A goal and pad save in the dying minutes by Jared Pletch was the most excitement he saw. Great sportsmanship and determination boys. Congratulations on your gold medals! You deserve it!