Minor Atom Braves Win the Terry Terrier
The Mississauga Braves Minor Atom Hockey Team show off their 2009 Terry Terrier Championship hardware.
After starting the season by capturing the Early Bird Tournament and winning their first five games, the Minor Atom Braves played in the Terry Terrier Tournament held over the Thanksgiving weekend in Mississauga. On day one of the tournament, they beat the host team Mississauga Terriers 2-1. In an early morning game the next day the Braves tied 3-3 against the Bulldogs from Sudbury. Later that Saturday they would face the local Streetsville Tigers and defeat them 3-1. The next day would deliver all of the excitement that we would expect from this hard working group of boys. The noon game vs. the Jets at Westwood arena would put a lot on the line for the Braves. Not only would a win give them sole possession of first for the tournament but due to scheduling difficulties, this game also served as a regular season GTHL game where the Braves would attempt to go 6-0 defending a winning streak. The Braves were forced to kill off 4 penalties and had a 1-0 lead until the Jets tied it early in the third. With less than two minutes to play in the game, the Braves’ scored to give them a 2-1 victory, a 1st place finish in the round robin and a 6-0 unbeaten streak in regular season play. This set the stage for a rematch vs. the Sudbury team for the championship back at Erin Mills arena with less than 90 minutes to prepare. And what a game this would be. Holding each other scoreless for most of the game, these two teams were determined to send the other home with a runner up medal. The Sudbury team would take a 1-0 lead midway into the third forcing the Braves to dig deep if they wanted a victory. Then, with just over a minute to play in the third, the Braves scored to force the game into overtime. With only a minute into the 4 0n 4 overtime period the Braves would score to give them their second championship of the season.
Congratulations to this year’s Terry Terrier Champions, Mississauga Minor Atom Braves AA: #3 Christian Ialeggio, #4 Aidan Merulla, #7 Jeremy Henderson, #8 Andrew Menecola, #9 Joseph Rupoli, #10 kyle Hanford, #13 Jacob King, #19 Steven Giansante, #23 Jamie Sparkes, #26 Mitchell LeLiever, #27 David Pontoni, #34 Matteo Ferrari, #44 Lucas Amoroso, #93 Luke Beamish, Goalies- #29 Harper Stone and #33 Zion Miceli, Head Coach- John Ialeggio, Asst. Coaches- Steve Richard and Garey Wilson, Trainer- Keith Henderson and Team Manager- John Menecola.
