Seaway Valley Rapids Peewee A wins in Niagara N.Y.

The St. Pierre Fuels Major Peewee A Rapids left the mighty Seaway Valley during the big storm of March 7th to 9th and traveled to Niagara Falls N.Y. for the Gene Harrington International Invitational hockey tournament.

Friday’s opening game against Bethlehem from Pennsylvania was played at the beautiful Dwyer Arena, home of the Niagara University NCWAA division 1 Purple Eagles men’s and women’s hockey. The Rapids won with a decisive 13-1 score. Setting the pace was Captain Zachary Séguin scoring the first goal of the tournament within seconds of the first face off. Goals were scored by Kyle Lewis, Keilian MacCulloch, Reed Payette, Pascal Pilon, Grayson Phillips and Zachary Seguin. Strong performances were given by Naylen Laffin with 3 goals and Jesse St. John with 4 goals. Assists were made by Jason Fournier, Jordan Sangster and Joshua Vandeglind. Special mention to the defense made up of Pascal Pilon, Grayson Phillips, Jordan Sangster and Joshua Vandeglind for practically breaking all of Bethlehem’s offensive plays.

The second game was played Saturday morning at the Hide Park Ice Pavilion against Wilkes-Barre from Pennsylvania. Wilkes-Barre gave Seaway some rivalry but Seaway was able to shut them down with a 5-1 win. Strong performance was given from Cory Garrow between the pipes. Goals were made by Naylen Laffin, Kyle Lewis, Reed Payette, Jesse St. John and assists by Jason Fourney, Keilian MacCulloch, and Grayson Phillips and Zachary Séguin.

The third game was played Saturday night against Cranford from New Jersey. The game was physical with not much flow. Our fast offense got many chances but just could not get the net to swallow the pucks. After three hard fought periods Seaway came up short with a disappointing loss of 1-3. Big efforts from Shane Flaro resulted in the only goal of the game with assists from Reed Payette and Jordan Sangster.

On Sunday, Seaway got a reprieve by playing the gritty Cranford team from Jersey again in the finals. There were lots of emotions in the air on both sides of the time keeper’s box. This time Seaway knew what type of team they were up against. The Cranford defense was no match to our speedy forward lines allowing us to create stunning plays only a team effort could generate. This hard work produced a comfortable lead in the 1st and 2nd period, deflating their offence and leading to a resounding 6-1 win. Great effort made by Kyle Lewis with 3 goals, Jesse St. John with 2 and Jason Fourney with one goal. Assists were made by Shayne Flaro, Grayson Phillips, Pascal Pilon, Zachary Séguin and Joshua Vandeglind.

Missing from the tournament was Brandon Barillaro, Colton Gallant, Joey Lamarche, Curtis Mullowney, and Assistant Coach Myles Gallant. Great efforts from the local kids of this paper who are Corey Garrow, Naylen Laffin, Kyle Lewis, Grayson Phillips.

Thanks to the tournament volunteers for a great evening Saturday at the “Parent Appreciation Karaoke Night” held just across the Seneca Niagara Casino. P.S.: Never go look at the winner’s trophy until you have won the game!