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.

An intense training camp and a hard working attitude by these excited 9 yr old hockey players proved to work to their advantage in this year’s Mississauga Early Bird tournament. With a strong defence, great goaltending and a powerful group of forwards, this team would complete the round robin without allowing a single goal. The first game, a 5-0 win over the Hornets, would set the stage and the benchmark for the work ethic that this talented team would expect from each other as teammates. They followed with a 4-0 win over Brampton, a 6-0 victory over the Canucks and completed the round robin by defeating the Jets a 3-0. These Minor Atom Braves played a well rounded final beating North Toronto 4-1. With both goalies getting 2 shutouts each, this team did not allow a goal against until well into the third period of the final game. With the coaching staff and parents all very proud of these boys, we’re sure to see some real excitement with this hockey team.

Congratulations and good luck to this year’s Early Bird 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.

The 99 Atom Braves completed a very successful Canadian Thanksgiving weekend down in Pittsburgh, PA, capturing the 2009 Three Rivers Cup having gone undefeated in the tournament.
 
TOURNEY RESULTS
Braves 7 vs Pittsburgh Amateur Penguins 1
Braves 3 vs Reston Raiders 2
Braves 6 vs Shaha Panthers 0
 
Finals Braves 4 vs Reston Raiders 0
 
 
99 ATOM BRAVES ROSTER
 
Goalies
Michael Capizzano, Will Jelinek
 
Players
Matthew Perrotta, Alexander Russo, Max Deacon, Devlin Shanahan, Lachlan O’Hara
Jake Ervin, Jackson Oswald, Matthew Wilkins, Noah Froud, Riley Robinson, Carter Mills, Cooper Davis, Brooke Bonsteel, Jessica DiGirolamo
 
Coaches
Dwain Ervin, Brian Shanahan, Jim Bonsteel, Ted Davis