by Chris Fox
The Kemptville Royals U11-B1 hockey team travelled to Oshawa over the February 16 to 18 weekend for the Bob Black Memorial Tournament and brought back the ‘B’ Championship! Game one brought the Royals a challenging match up against the Apsley Flames. The Flames are leading their league in dominant fashion and would bring a tough game. Right winger M. Fox notched the only goal of the game, with the helper coming from Hilton. The Royals played strong and hard but fell to the Flames in a 4-1 loss to open the tournament. Strong goaltending by netminder Martin kept the Royals close and gave the Flames one of the few challenges they have faced this season. In game two, the Royals faced off against the Clarington Thunder and Kemptville wasn’t about to drop two in a row. The Royals started fast and hard and controlled the pace of the game to post a statement 5-2 win over the Thunder.
The team consists of Blyth Martin, Tyler Fox, Greyson Hilton, Kieran Mark, Michael Fox, Jack Holmes (injured), Carter Lizotte, Mason Paterson, Marek Frizell, Mason Walter, Brady Forman, Carter O’Neil, Carson Scott, Tony Charbel and Jakob Meisner, with a bench staff of Head Coach Chris Fox, Assistant Coaches Ryan Scott, Ryan Lizotte, Ted Forman, Trainer Mike Martin and Manager Paul Frizell.
Goals were scored by Hilton (1), Charbel (2), O’Neil (1) and Paterson (1), with assists from Meisner (1), Walter (2), Frizell (1) and Paterson (1). A strong offensive rush by defenseman Paterson netted him his first goal of the season and capped off the offensive push by Kemptville. T. Fox was strong on the blueline for the Royals and made several shutdown plays to stall any chance of a Thunder comeback.
With a 1-1 record, the Royals missed the chance to play for the ‘A’ Championship but secured their spot in the ‘B’ Final for a chance to bring home some hardware. With Saturday afternoon off, the team looked for some inspiration from some other hockey royalty, with a trip to the Hockey Hall of Fame! After a team meeting at the Stanley Cup, the fire was lit for Sunday’s match.
The ‘B’ Finals marked a matchup against the Kingston Lourdes and proved a challenge. After a Royals opening goal, the Lourdes responded with two quick ones to take the lead. With the clock expiring in the first period, Kemptville buried one to head into the second tied at two. Only three minutes into the second, the Royals struck again to take the lead and would not relinquish it for the rest of the game. The Royals went on an offensive charge and netted three more, but the Lourdes fought back scoring two more and keeping the Royals and their fans on the edge. In the end, the Royals came home with victory and a 6-4 win to be awarded the ‘B’ Championship.
Strong clearing by defenseman Mark in the third period kept the Lourdes out of Kemptville’s end. Scoring was provided by Forman (1), Walter (1), Lizotte (1) and led by Frizell (3) with a hat trick performance. Assists were tallied by Frizell (1), Forman (2), Scott (1), Charbel (2), O’Neil (1) and Hilton (1). Lizotte deposited a rebound for the game winner on his first goal of the season and the offence was firing on all cylinders with passing and puck control.
The U11-B1 Royals would like to thank their season sponsors for their ongoing support, including David Walter Financial Services Ltd., McGraw Technical Services, J.D. Barnes Ltd., Annis O’Sullivan Vollebekk Ltd. and Moex Property Maintenance Inc.
