Minor Peewee win Empire State Thanksgiving Tourney
The 2008-2009 (1997) Minor Peewee Mississauga Braves Hockey Team proudly display their Empire State Thanksgiving Tournament Championship banner.
The 97 Minor Peewee Braves travelled south to Rochester on Thursday leading up to the U.S. Thanksgiving to be ready for a Friday morning match-up against the Syracuse Stars in Game 1 of the Empire State Thanksgiving Classic Tournament. The strategy worked as the Braves came out firing on all cylinders and beat the Stars 8 – 3.
Game 2 was scheduled for 8:00 am Saturday morning, and an “early to bed, early to rise” cerfew paid off as the 97 Minor Peewee Braves defeated the Rochester Americans 10 – 1.
The team followed strict activity guidelines in preparation for a late afternoon Game 3, this time facing the GTHL East Goulding Park Rangers. As a reward to the team’s goalies for their stellar play, the Braves focused on solid defensive play and succeeded again beating the Rangers 6 – 0.
The Braves performance saw them place first overall to qualify for the Championship game on Sunday afternoon. The kids and families had the night off to enjoy a nice meal and take advantage of the hotel’s pool and other facilities till their 10:00 pm curfew. The Braves came out on Sunday determined to win against a strengthened and committed Syracuse Stars team. Down 2 – 1 early in the second period, the Braves took control and scored 3 unanswered goals to win the Championship 4 -2.
