The Walkerton Capitals would play in the annual SBMHA Pee
Wee Tournament held in Teeswater on January 27th, 2018. The tournament would feature 8 teams from
around mid-western Ontario.
Walkerton would play its first game against the Lucknow Sepoys. The Capitals would open the scoring just before the 3 minute mark when Matthew McNaughton would send a pass to Scott McTeer who sent a stretched pass to Cayleb Peitz who would score on the break away. The two teams would battle as the period continued. Walkerton would score with 3:55 remaining when Keegan Batte sent a hard cross ice pass to Kyle Romphf who found the back of the net. Walkerton would then score with 1:15 remaining when Cobi Johnson deflected a hard wrist shot from the point that found the far corner of the net. Xander Thornton was credited with the assist. Walkerton would lead 3-0 after the first period.
The Capitals would come out firing to start the second period, Tyler Wallace would finish a great passing play with a hard wrist shot that caught the top corner of the net, assists were awarded to Keegan Batte and Scott McTeer. Just a minute later Cobi Johnson scored his second of the game assisted by Kyle Romphf and Colby Schmidt. At the other end of the rink goaltender, Ryan Hinsperger would make several big time saves to keep the Sepoys off the score sheet. Cayleb Peitz would tuck the puck passed the Lucknow net-minder with 6 minutes remaining assisted by Carson Filsinger and Jack Walter. Walkerton would score its last goal of the period when Keegan Batte beat the Lucknow net-minder after taking a pass from Scott McTeer and Tyler Wallace.
The third period and the Capitals would again use its speed game moving the puck with great precision. Carson Filsinger would take a pass from Cayleb Peitz before lifting it over a sprawled Sepoys net-minder just over three minutes into the period. The scoring would continue when Scott McTeer made an end to end rush from his own blue line before his shot found the back of the net with just over 9 minutes remaining. Walkerton would go onto win in a convincing manner with a 9-0 victory. Walkerton Scott McTeer was awarded the Capitals player of the game.
The afternoon game would see the Capitals play the Blyth-Brussels Crusaders in the semi-final match. The game would start off at a feverish pace with both sides having good scoring chances early. The tide would turn late in the first when a Crusaders player was assessed a five minute major and a game misconduct for checking from behind. The Capitals would be unable to score on the power play but sustained pressure on the Crusaders end the whole time. The first period would end in a scoreless draw.
Walkerton would open the scoring with 7:41 remaining in the second when Scott McTeer would send a breakout pass to Tyler Wallace who then sent a cross ice pass to a streaking Keegan Batte who came down on his opposite wing who then fired on net and continued and jumped on the rebound and put it in off the post. Walkerton would lead 1-0 after two periods of play.
The third period would see the Capitals come out quickly and would be rewarded just over a minute into the period. The Crusaders would dump the puck into the Walkerton zone and go for a line change, anticipating the play goal-tender Ryan Hinsperger would come out of his net and play the puck up to Keegan Batte who would then fire it off to Tyler Wallace who would beat the Crusaders goalie with a wrist shot. Tyler Wallace would then score his second of the game with 5:46 remaining after taking a pass from Scott McTeer and Connor Farrell. The Capitals would defeat the Crusaders 3-0 and advance to the championship game later that evening. Player of the game for the Capitals was Tyler Wallace.
The championship game would see the Walkerton Capitals play the Goderich Sailors. The game would start with goalies being tested early and often but both goalies were stellar in keeping the puck out of the net. The first period would wrap up in a scoreless stalemate after the first ten minutes.
The Capitals would take the lead early in the second period when Cayleb Peitz fired a hard wrist shot that beat the Sailors net-minder stick side, assisted on the goal were Jack Walter and Carson Filsinger. The Capitals would continue to go to the net but would be unable to add to its lead as the period concluded.
The third period and Walkerton would again strike early when Kyle Romphf would score after taking a pass from Cobi Johnson just over 2 minutes into the period. A minute later Walkertons Tyler Wallace and Scott McTeer would team up to put the Capitals up 3-0. Goderich would respond just over a minute later when the puck eluded the glove hand and found the top corner to cut into the Walkerton lead. The two teams would go back and forth but it would be the Capitals who would score the final goal when with 5:26 remaining Cayleb Peitz finished a great passing play after the Capitals had held the puck in the offensive zone. Cayleb would fire the puck into the top corner after taking a pass from Jack Walter and Carson Filsinger. The Capitals would be short handed late in the game but the defence were strong in clearing the zone. As the final seconds counted down and the buzzer sounded the boys celebrated by surrounding their goalie and congratulating one another. As helmets and sticks covered the ice the boys were presented with their medals and would do a victory lap before the celebration would continue in the dressing room. Goaltender Ryan Hinsperger would be named the Walkerton player of the game.
The Capitals played three excellent games on its way to the tournament championship. The puck movement in all of the games was exceptional, the back-checking from the forwards and the play of the defensemen was stellar throughout, both in clearing our zone and holding the puck in the offensive zone. The goaltending was fantastic in that Ryan would only give up 1 goal over the three games. Everyone to a player stepped their game and came together to play as a team.