The following was submitted on behalf of the Barrie Jr. Colts U18 AAA team:
Congratulations to the Barrie Jr. Colts U18 AAA team, sponsored by North Barrie Chick-Fil-A, who won the International Silver Stick Finals in Sarnia this past weekend.
With a squad of 18 players, the team includes goaltenders Wilson Mackey and Logan Rubino, defencemen Dylan Ewles, Wyatt Farries, Noah Gaudet-Barton, Nathan McKee (A) and Brody Tulk (A), along with forwards, Luca Astri (C), Logan Bendo (A), Cruz Doner, Taciano Foti, Lewis Hergaarden, Connor Hollebek, Josh Hyder, Logan Jackson, Noah Larmon, Gavin Loughran, and Jonah McCormick.
It has been three-and-a-half years since head coach Kevin Thompson and his entirely non-parent coaching staff — assistant coaches Mateo Thompson, Braydon Hogarth and Christian Papineau, along with his manager of eight years, Kathleen McMillan — took over the Barrie U18 AAA program.
With a strong focus on culture and giving players the junior experience, they've worked hard to build the program into one of the top in Ontario, which includes their own change room at the Peggy Hill Team Community Centre, a joint effort with the City of Barrie and change-room sponsor Glen Martin Ltd.
After driving through a snow storm last Thursday night, which saw Highway 401 and safest route to Sarnia closed, the team woke up Friday morning, ready to go to work.
They finished the round-robin in second-place overall, with a record of 2-1-1, after a 3-2 loss against the Bio Steel Sports Academy, a 2-2 tie against the Huron Perth Lakers, and wins against the Ontario Empire (8-4) and the host team, the Lambton Jr. Sting (5-2).
"The team saved their best hockey for Sunday, where they played two incredible, consistent, complete team games," says coach Thompson.
In the semifinals, they took on the first-place overall team in the tournament, the Winnipeg Thrashers, who had remained undefeated throughout the round-robin.
With a strong performance in net from Rubino and goals from Jackson, Astri, Tulk, Larmon and Doner, the team defeated the Thrashers, 5-2, earning a spot in the final.
The final saw a match-up against the Bio Steel Sports Academy, who had narrowly beaten the Colts in the round-robin.
Coach Thompson says he knows it's hard to beat a team twice in a tournament and he was confident his team was ready for the rematch.
With Tulk opening the scoring, followed by goals from Hollebek and Gaudet-Barton, the Colts were feeling good heading into the third, up 3-1.
The third period saw a strong goaltending performance from Mackey and two more goals from Gaudet-Barton and Jackson, securing a 5-2 win for the Barrie team.
This marked the first International Silver Stick win for a U18/midget AAA team from Barrie, since 1997 — 27 years ago.
An incredible accomplishment for the young squad, captained by Astri.
"It feels amazing to win a tournament with this much history behind it," says the captain. "We have a great tight-knit group of guys. Our focus on Sunday was to keep the bench positive, bring each other up and play a team game."
The International Silver Stick is one of the most prestigious tournaments in minor hockey, dating back to 1956.
"Tournament director Kyle Mellor and the entire Sarnia Silver Stick committee put on an incredible weekend," says manager McMillan.
The Barrie Jr. Colts U18 AAA team will now see their team's name displayed on a plaque in the Silver Stick exhibit at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto — a place they plan to visit as a team this summer to take in their accomplishment.
The Colts continue their regular season this Friday, with a game at home against the Northshore Whitecaps.
"We want to build off this win and keep it rolling," says Astri.
You can catch the team in action at their home rink, the Peggy Hill Team Community Centre, at 8 p.m., or follow along on Instagram @barrieu18midgetaaa.
