The U11 LL Carquest team played their hearts out in the Silverstick tournament – held at Highland Storm’s home rink in Haliburton this past weekend.
They played five hard-fought games, making it to the Sunday finals. Our goalies, Isaiah Young and Jack Hunter, split duties in net and stood tall, only allowing 12 goals all weekend. Storm forwards, Dean DaLanca, Arizona Latanville, Francis Gilmour, Nixon Hopkins, Wesley Bramham, Chase Casella, Jaxon Pelley, Nolan Gallagher and Sebastian Dart played with determination, grit, passion and drive to get to the finals.
Some amazing backchecking, forechecking and playmaking from Bramham, Gallagher and Keaton DeCarlo stood out throughout the tournament. Gilmour was a solid utility player bouncing around where needed to help the team. Latanville, Casella and Hopkins fought hard on the wings playing their positions and defending the zone.
Storm players put in a solid team effort during their first game to secure a 4-2 win.
In game 2, the Storm’s defence was incredible. Tripp Meier, Griffin Hunt and DeCarlo were backchecking and making smart plays, keeping the puck out of the defensive zone. Hunt and Meier also chipped in with pivotal goals to secure the win. Hunter scored his first goal as a forward while Young made great saves only allowing one goal.
Game 3 was a nail-biter with the Storm tying the Ennismore Eagles 3-3 to finish first in the A division.
Sunday morning, the Storm played the Apsley Flames in the semi-finals. In the first period, Apsley took a 1-0 lead. Dart tied it in the second with Apsley following with two quick goals, making it 3-1.
Storm coaches and crowd support got the players fired up in the third, which led to a DeLanca standout goal. DeLanca’s digging and playmaking secured a beautiful assist on the tying goal by Pelley. It was an intense overtime, starting with three-on-three for three minutes, then two-on-two for two minutes. With there being no goal, it came down to one-on-one for one minute.
Storm coaches chose Dart for the final minute with him locking in the win with a five-hole wrist shot from inside the blue line.
In the final game, the Storm finished in second place with a tough loss to Ennismore.
Highland Storm’s community support was heartwarming and made the tournament an amazing experience for all players and coaches.
