Last weekend, the Highland Storm U15 The Pepper Mill Steak & Pasta House team played in the regional Silverstick tournament at S.G. Nesbitt Memorial Arena in Minden. They faced a grueling schedule and tough opponents.
First opposition was the Ennismore Eagles White team. Both teams traded chances during the first two periods but both goalies stood tall and turned aside every shot. It wasn’t until the eight-minute mark of the third that Jackson Sperrino broke the deadlock with a well-placed snapshot just under the crossbar. The Storm added to their lead just two minutes later when Captain Lucas Sinclair battled through a couple of checks and put a low wrister into the net. With the Storm ahead 2-0, Marshall Heasman continued his sharp play in net and kept the Eagles off the board.
The second game was against the Stirling Blues. The Storm put the Blues on their heels early. Jozef Porzuczek led the charge scoring two minutes into the game. Greyson Miscio and Sperrino also scored during the first. In the second, Linus Gervais took a pass from Sinclair in the slot and fired a wrist shot into the top of the net. The defence group of Jacob Manning, Camren Bawks, Greyson Thomas, Chris Fillier and Sinclair would not yield a goal, recording the team’s second shutout of the tournament.
The last game of the day was against the Centre Hastings Grizzlies. It was a nail-biter as each team wanted to secure first place in the pool. The Grizzlies scored first. Facing their first deficit of the tournament, the Storm worked hard and tied the game when Sinclair banged in a rebound to tie the game. The Grizzlies took the lead again late in the second. Being down going into the third has never been an issue for this squad and they once again responded when Sperrino was able to out wait the goalie and flip the puck into the net. The Grizzlies scored on the powerplay with only three minutes to go in the game. With the goalie pulled and constant puck pressure, Sinclair was able to get a shot from the point on target that found the five-hole evening the score at three with only 14 seconds remaining. This was a complete team effort as Claire Hamilton, Addison Haaijema, and Brayden Collins all made major contributions to the team, being able to lock up first place in their tournament pool.
