Seaway Valley Rapids Atom AA Wins Kingston Canadians Tournament

Submitted by Johanne Sullivan

The Seaway Valley Rapids Major Atom AA team traveled to Kingston over the weekend to participate in the Kingston Canadians AA tournament. During the round robin phase of the tournament, the Rapids faced the hometown team first. The boys got off to a quick start when James Sullivan scored on a pass from Braxton D'alessio and Ben Pilon. It was quickly followed-up by Assistant Captain Marco McCarthy on a pass from Assistant Captain Jonah Ashby and Brennan Lashomb. Ethan Montroy got a hat trick during the game. Assists also went to Thomas Shoniker, Josh Esford, and Landen Sweet. The Rapids came out on top with an 8-0 win with Matt Sauvé earning the shutout.

For the second game, the Rapids faced the Don Mills Mustangs who had a perfect record going into it. The Rapids drew first blood when Montroy connected on a pass from Ashby. The Mustangs tied it up early in the second and then went ahead. After some great passing Pilon put it in the net to tie it. It was passed from Ashby to Jett Jock to Captain Carson Martin until Pilon put it away. The Mustangs fought back and again went up by one. Going into the third period, the Mustangs were leading 3-2. In the middle of the last period, D'alessio passed it to Sullivan who put it in the net to tie it up. Austin Lebano had some great goaltending that game to keep it tied 3-3.

On Saturday, the Rapids faced the Belleville Bulls. It was another strong performance with the Rapids coming out on top 7-0. Lebano earned another shutout for the season while Montroy (x2), D'alessio, Sullivan, McCarthy, and Antoine Lafrance each scored. Ashby, Pilon (x2), D'alessio, Sullivan, Jock, Sweet, and McCarthy each earned assists.

To finish out the round robin the Rapids faced a league rival, the Upper Ottawa Valley Aces. McCarthy scored first for Rapids, followed by D'alessio and Montroy while Lashomb, Sullivan and Esford each earned assists. Assistant Captain Ashby had a goal called back when the Aces pulled their goalie during a power play, but Jock was offside when the puck sailed into the empty net. The score was 3-1 at the end of the first. During the second, Montroy scored unassisted, but the Aces pulled within one to make it 4-3. During the third period, Jock scored unassisted, but the Aces also scored to stay within one. Montroy came through in the clutch on a pass from Martin to make the final score 6-4.

After the round robin of play, the Rapids finished second overall and had to face the Innisfil Winterhawks for the semi-final. The Rapids got on the board first when Martin deflected in from defenseman Shoniker. The score was tied going into the second period. Lashomb scored unassisted during the second and the Rapids never looked back. During the third period, Montroy, Jock and D'alessio each scored unassisted for a final score of 5-2.

For the finals, the Rapids had to face the Don Mills Mustangs again. The Rapids were hoping to hand the Mustangs their first loss of the season. During the first period, the Mustangs were able to score twice when they capitalized on some mistakes the Rapids made while the Rapids only scored once when Lafrance connected on a pass from McCarthy. During the second period, the Mustangs again scored to lead the Rapids 3-1. It wasn't looking good for the Rapids, but in the final minutes of play they pulled it together when Montroy put it in the net after Martin and Jock passed it to him. Being within one, the Rapids were pressing hard especially after Sullivan crashed the net. After a scrum in front of the net, McCarthy put it in on a rebound from Pilon and Martin. The game was finally tied and went into overtime. It remained tied after the OT; it went to a 3-person shootout. Going first for the Rapids was Lafrance, but their goalie stuffed him. The Mustangs player beat Sauvé to create some high drama. Next, Martin skated for Rapids and beat the Mustang goalie while Sauvé made the save. With the Rapids last skater, Montroy needed to score to get the go-ahead. He didn't disappoint. He deked the goalie to get the go-ahead goal while Sauvé made an outstanding save against the Mustangs big defenseman. Mission accomplished for the Rapids-they won the tournament and handed the Mustangs their first loss of the season.