The Junior Bruno Axemen participated in the 2013 Juvenile Broomball Nationals, placing eight of 10 overall.
The Bruno boys' broomball team travelled to Cornwall, Ontario, from April 3-6 after qualifying at Provincials on March 2.
The Junior Axemen played six games over the three-day period, facing off against Canada's best broomball teams.
"They did really well with what we had to work with," said Danny Olchowski, head coach for the Bruno Axemen. "We were short a couple of players who couldn't make it on last notice.
"It's always a really tough tournament," Olchowski continued. "Our goalie Nathan Hafner played really well -- he kept us in a lot of the games."
The boys started off the action on Wednesday, April 3, facing off against the host, the Valley Gamblers. The Bruno Axemen were defeated 8-0, falling to the Valley Gamblers 5-0 in the first and 3-0 in the second. The Valley Gamblers were at an advantage with the home team putting up three high broom penalties on the board in the first and second.
The Axemen finished the first day on Wednesday evening playing against the Border City Sharks. The Border City Sharks put the first point on the board 12:06 into the first, but Bruno's Drew Thiemann answered back with a goal at 16:37, ending the first period tied at 1-1. The Sharks responded quickly in the second, passing two shots past Axemen goalie Nathan Hafner. The Sharks took the win 3-1.
The Axemen started strong on Day 2 of the Nationals, beating out Team Manitoba 3-2. Bruno's Josh Giddings started off the action, scoring a goal 13:16 into the first but Team Manitoba's Christian Toupin responded some 30 seconds later. Period two heated up for the boys, as Bruno snuck one past the opposition 29 seconds into the period. Team Manitoba pushed hard but not hard enough and the Bruno Axemen took the win.
In the second game played on Thursday, April 4, the Bruno Axemen fell to the As de Saint-Coeur de Marie 5-0.
The Bruno Axemen participated in the B-Side men's semifinal on Friday afternoon facing off against the Odessa Bandits. Unfortunately, the Axemen were defeated by the Bandits who took the victory 2-0, putting up points in the first and second periods.
The Bruno Axemen closed their play in the 2013 Juvenile Nationals early Saturday morning. The Axemen lined up against the Windsor Devils to compete for the B Side men's bronze. The Devils fired up in the first period, putting three points on the board.
Bruno's Devin Kramer managed to squeeze one goal into the net 17:02 into the first and did it again in the second period but it wasn't enough to overcome the Devils' four-point advantage. The Devils defeated the Axemen 5-2 ending the 2013 season for the Bruno boys.
