Barrie Colts AAA Invitational, Jan. 4-6

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The Welland L.J. Walters Insurance Tigers were short on players, but not in heart, putting in a very strong performance during this weekend’s Barrie Minor Hockey Association AAA Invitational Tournament.  #30 Trent Podrebarac ably backstopped the Tigers to a 5-3 comeback victory in their opening match-up against the Hamilton Phantoms on Friday afternoon, with #17 Morgan Lavoie and #11 Denis Creighton each netting two goals apiece in support of Podrebarac, with #6 Travis Sheldrake tallying the other marker.  Assisting on the goals were #7 Kevin Rotter with three helpers, Sheldrake with two, and #9 Brett Larocque, #12 Jared Molnar and #18 Brooker Muir, and Lavoie with single assists.

Welland then skated the Markham Majors to a 2-2 draw in their second game of the tournament, played on Saturday.  Rotter and Creighton lit the lamp with assists going to Creighton, Lavoie and Sheldrake.  Korey Bedard played solidly in goal for the Tigers to preserve the tie.  Both Bedard and Podrebarac saw action in the team’s third game against the Clarington Toros, with the Tigers, playing with only 12 skaters, falling to the Toros by a 4-1 score after ceding four power-play goals.  #16 Damien Lalonde recorded the lone Tigers’ goal on assists from #14 Stevie Czepek and Sheldrake to open the scoring of this game before the Toros stormed back.

Welland would advance to play against the Sudbury Jr. Wolves in the semi-final game.  The Tigers would start this game short-staffed with only 11 players. Making things worse, an injury to Denis Creighton in the first period left them with only 10 players and three defensemen with which to finish the game.  Despite the obvious challenge, the Tigers demonstrated their excellent fitness level and competitiveness, battling hard into the second overtime period before the Wolves were able to capture the berth into the final with a 4-3 victory.  Scoring for the Tigers were Travis Sheldrake, Morgan Lavoie and #5 Brett Golding while Brett Larocque, Denis Creighton, Kevin Rotter and #19 Cole McKnight set up the goals.

The Tigers return to regular-season action next Saturday afternoon at home against the Burlington Eagles, where they hope to continue their recent strong play and improve upon their 7-8-6 record.

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Filed under 2007-08 L.J. Walters Insurance Minor Bantam AAA Tigers, Sports Writing/Commentary, Tournaments/Playdowns

Tags: 2007-08 L.J. Walters Insurance Minor Bantam AAA Tigers, Clarington Toros, Hamilton Phantoms, Markham Majors, Sports Writing/Commentary, Sudbury Wolves, Tournaments/Playdowns