Nov 15, 2022 | Candy Haggitt | 324 views
Wingham U11LL Blue compete in tournaments
The Wingham U11 Blue team has had a busy few weeks, competing in 2 tournaments.
On November 4, the team travelled to Goderich to play in the Ryan O’Reilly Youth Challenge
Cup. The team was in a group consisting of teams from Sarnia, Zurich and the hosts from
Goderich.
In game 1 vs Sarnia, the team got off to a slow start, but found their legs in the 2nd
period, skating away with a 6-3 victory. Mason Ortlieb led the attack with 4 goals, with singles
going to Kalyn Haggitt and Blake Haanstra. Assists went to Noah Bartman, Nolan Garniss,
Bentley Morrison and Haanstra. Ortlieb was named player of the game.
In game #2, Wingham found themselves against Zurich, who is very evenly matched
with them, playing them in Wingham the previous week. Wingham got out to a 3-0 lead, only to
let it slip away, and allow Zurich to take a 4-3 lead. Wingham tied it with 3:14 remaining, and
held on for a 4-4 tie. Goal scorers were Blake Horrigan, Bentley Morrison, Kalyn Haggitt and
Mason Ortlieb. Assists went to Blake Haanstra and Douglas Campbell. Player of the game for
his steady defensive efforts would go to Noah Bartman.
The 3rd game saw Wingham facing the hosts from Goderich, knowing a win was needed
to move on to either the Bronze or Gold medal game. Wingham was hungry, and scored 6 on
the hosts, to ensure a finals berth, and Evan Drost kept the Goderich shooters at bay, stopping
all shots he faced to record the shutout. Drost was awarded player of the game. Goal scorers
were Ortlieb with 2, Morrison with 2, Blake Haanstra and Noah Bartman with 1 apiece. Assists
went to Logan Walker, Blake Horrigan, Blake Haanstra and Douglas Campbell
In the Gold medal game, the team was facing our neighbours from South Bruce, who
have a very strong team. South Bruce lead 2-0 after 1 period, but Wingham cut into the lead as
Mason Ortlieb scored to make it 2-1. South Bruce made it 3-1, before Logan Walker scored the
1st goal of his hockey career, cutting into the lead again. South Bruce scored again to lead 4-2
after 2 periods. Wingham played hard in the 3rd, pulling the goalie with 2:40 left, which allowed
Ortlieb to score his 2nd of the contest, closing the gap to 1, but that was as close as they would
get, falling 4-3. Logan Walker was awarded the player of the game. The team showed heart
and determination all weekend, and should be proud of their silver medals.
November 11, the team traveled to Parkhill for the Lawrence McGee Memorial Silver
Stick. Game 1 was in Thedford vs. Point Edward, and it seemed like the kids had some “bus
legs” following the drive down, and got down 2-0 after 1. The team woke up in the 2nd, but
trailed 3-1 heading into the 3rd. Another Wingham goal made it a 1 goal game, Wingham pulled
their goalie late in an attempt to tie it, but couldn’t find the twine, losing the opener 3-2. Mason
Ortlieb scored both Wingham goals.
Wingham now found themselves in a tough situation, needing 2 wins to have a chance
to advance, and knowing they faced a very good St. Mary’s Rock team. Wingham played their
best overall game this season, with their defense of Nolan Garniss, Christiaan Grundlingh,
Douglas Campbell and Noah Bartman doing an excellent job of keeping the St. Mary’s shooters
to the outside, and the wingers including Liam Degroot, Blake Horrigan, Kalyn Haggitt, Logan
Walker and Blake Haanstra getting to the wall and getting pucks out, allowed us limit St. Mary’s
zone time. Wingham skated away with a 2-0 victory, with Ortlieb getting both tallies.
Game 3 saw Wingham in the drive seat, knowing a victory over the East Elgin Eagles
would assure them of 1st place in Group C. Another great game by Evan Drost between the
pipes, and the attack paced by Bentley Morrison’s hat trick, led Wingham to a 3-0 victory, and a
berth in the semi-final Sunday Morning.
The first snow squalls and treacherous driving of this hockey season led the team to the
semifinals, where they would face the Lucan Irish. Lucan won Group B, amassing 32 goals for,
and only 5 against in 3 games. Wingham assumed the underdog role, and came out hard, but
found themselves down 2-0 after 1, after 2 point shots found the top corners of the net,
something we hadn’t seen this season. Wingham would get within 1, as Mason Ortlieb scored
to make it 2-1, but Lucan kept pressing, and added a 3rd goal, leading 3-1. Wingham pulled the
goalie again, and although chances were had, Lucan proved to be too much, and Wingham was
eliminated.
It was a great start to the season, and the coaches and parents were proud of the effort
from all the players throughout the 2 weekends. The team returns to it’s busy regular season
schedule this week.
Chad Haggitt