The Estevan Knights of Columbus bantam Knights fought back from 2-0 and 3-2 deficits to beat the Wadena Wildcats 4-3 in a shootout and capture the 2016 Estevan Bantam Hockey Tournament championship at Affinity Place on Sunday.
“We were able to come back in the third and win it because we just didn’t quit,” said Knights defenceman Kaleb Poole. “We fought and fought and fought and won all the battles.”
Poole enjoyed the first chance to light the lamp 2:15 into the first period on a short-handed break where the offensive catalyst deked to his forehand for a shot at a bottom corner only to have Wildcats goalie Carter Peterson snatch the puck with his glove. Wildcats forward Logan Schultz capitalized on his attempt about nine minutes later with Wadena enjoying a six-on-four advantage thanks to an extra attacker on for a delayed penalty and the Knights already a man short with one in the box.
Wadena’s Charlie Zeleny made it 2-0 with five minutes to play in the opening frame sliding a puck past Knights goaltender Layne Gilroy while standing alone at the top of the crease. Estevan’s Kade Anderson then got one back at the 18:53 mark of the first period spinning and firing a shot from the slot that went low blocker side.
The Knights ran into penalty trouble to start the second with the Wildcats enjoying a 1:54 five-on-three advantage six minutes into the stanza. Wadena applied pressure during the power play, but a strong effort by the Estevan defence to get on pucks and clear the zone eliminated any quality scoring chances.
“That was huge,” said Knights head coach Tim Miller, noting one of their top offensive weapons in Tayce Miller was also ejected on the hit-from-behind call. “We were starting to get some momentum in the second period and to lose one of our top players on a rough call, a marginal call, that once we killed it the whole team they were let’s do this.”
Shortly after the kill, Knights forward Tyler Leverton tied the game on a pass from Anderson. However, another Estevan penalty late in the frame proved costly with Wildcats forward Kaiden Koroluchuk taking matters into his own hands by driving down the wing before firing a shot five hole on Gilroy from the top of the crease.
After the 3-2 goal, the Knights headed back to the box with a four-minute double-minor. The Estevan club held their ground once again during the lengthy kill before Hudson Chernoff tied up the game at the 6:43 mark of the third period poking in a cross-crease pass from Anderson.
“We find a way,” said Miller. “They’re a good group of kids. They get along, they stick up for each other, they’re good teammates and we don’t let the adversity get to us.”
Both teams exchanged chances throughout the remainder of the third period, but neither was able to beat Gilroy or Lucas Stomp, who came in for Peterson to start the final frame. Anderson found the mark as the third skater in the shootout depositing the puck between Stomp’s pad and the post before Poole notched the winner with a deke to his backhand that he tucked in five hole.
“We did pretty good this tournament,” said Poole. “We had a few tough games, but this game was definitely one of our toughest.”
Miller said the Knights have a 3-3 record this season in the Moose Mountain Hockey League with two of their losses being one-goal affairs against teams sitting at the top of the standings. He said the kids have shown a willingness to play through the tough challenges without getting down on themselves and getting a win in their home tournament final despite the adversity that came with it should go a long way.
“This tournament will give us momentum for our next games,” added Poole. “I think we can beat every team and we try to beat every team we face. We try our hardest.”
