Beverly PeeWees bring home the
GRLL 'A' Championship banner finishing their exceptional season with top honours!
CONGRATULATIONS!
Your Beverly Bandits PeeWee team took to the New Hamburg Wilmot Recreation Complex ice with confidence that they had the skill and desire to finish their season with a win. Coaches Max, Andy, Brad, Pete and James had a plan and the Bandits were well prepared for their battle. Everyone knew their opponent, New Hamburg 1, was not going to make it easy. Their only loss this entire season was to this team. These were well matched teams with great skill and talent. This was going to be an exciting game and the fans were ready with their cow bells and their support.
And an exciting game it was! The first period ended 0-0 despite many incredible plays and with each player giving their best effort on both sides. Then it came... defenseman Josh Dorsman let it go from just inside the blue line with one of his precise and powerful slap shots. Goal 1 for Beverly!!
It didn’t take long for a second goal to go in thanks to the talented Dante DiFelice, 2-0 Beverly. The second period was off to a strong start but that was going to be it for goals. There were plenty of close ones by the Beverly and New Hamburg players, with impressive goal tending by Beverly’s Flynn Hastings and the NH1 goalies. There was some great hockey being played by these young athletes... good and clean!
The rest of the game was back and forth with your Beverly Bandits playing hard to keep their lead and helping Flynn move towards his shutout (it wasn’t just the championship ...pizza and wings were on the line, too!). The voices were booming from the bench as the clock ticked down. Quick line changes, fresh legs and every single Beverly Bandits PeeWee supporting their collective effort – focused on the win! That is how it played out for the rest of the 2nd period and long into the 3rd period.
The game was closing in on the end when New Hamburg pulled their goalie and the air was buzzing with excitement. The parents were cheering wildly, the coaches on both benches were scrambling to encourage their team to play smart and to give it all in the final moments of the game. The open net is the target and Dante DiFelice finds it with 0.4 seconds left in the game! Goal 3 and the game comes to a fantastic end for the Beverly Bandits PeeWees! Hooray!
What a season they have had! Undefeated in their regular season. First place in Round Robin Playoffs. Undefeated in Championship Playoffs! Grand River Local League 2015-16 ‘A’ Champions – Congratulations to our PeeWees!
It is thanks to the incredible commitment our coaches have to their PeeWee players – they have inspired these kids to play each game with exceptional effort. The lessons they have taught them while playing hockey go well beyond just skating and game skills. It is all about the teamwork, sportmanship, empathy, winning and losing with grace and the bigger picture, that it takes more than one person to achieve success. Invaluable life lessons that will carry them through their entire lives.
Being part of this team (any team) gives them all a sense of belonging and creates friendships and experiences that will last long past that final buzzer. A special highlight of their season will forever be #4’s goal during the Beverly vs New Hamburg 2 game on Sunday, March 28th when the Beverly Arena erupted in cheer for Scotty Steunenberg, the Bandit who gives his all on the ice each game, each practice. This is what Beverly hockey is all about – the support each Bandit gives to another, the support the families bring.
Congratulations to our PeeWee players and coaches on your exceptional season!
It isn’t over yet! 2016 Pepsi Hockey Invitational here we come – there is great fun to be had in Buffalo!
Photos from the game: PeeWee_'A' Championship
*A few stats from Coach Max:
- 25 - 1 - 0 SEASON
- Unbeaten in the Regular Season
- First Place in Regular Season
- 89 Goals For (GF) in Regular Season
- 15 Goals Against (GA) in Regular Season
- We beat the closest team on Goals Against by 62%
- We had a total of 476 Shots on Net in Regular Season
- We had a total of 203 Shots Against in Regular Season (this means that the opposing team had a 0.07% chance to score on FLYNN)
- We scored 32 of our Goals in the First Period in Regular Season
- We scored 28 of our Goals in the Second Period in Regular Season
- We scored 29 of our Goals in the Third Period
- We won 67.71% of our Face-Off`s
- We had 62 Penalty Minutes in Regular Season (Elaine!!) haha
- First Place in Playoff Round Robin Round
- First Place FINALIST ROUND !!!!
- NO GOALS AGAINST IN FINALIST ROUND !!!! (this is unheard of!)
GO BANDITS GO!
