Oct 18, 2015 | GeoffT | 2458 views
Midget Preds Start Off The Season With Two Impressive Tournament Showings
The Midget Predators managed a strong Semi-Final showing at the Toronto Titans Early Bird Tournament and came away with the Championship trophy at the Markham Majors Fall Classic Tournament.
Despite this team having only been together for a couple of weeks and with three practices, the Midget Predators finished the Round-Robin of the Titans Tournament with a solid 2-1-1 record which was good enough to get them into the Playoff Round where they would face-off against the Toronto Jr. Canadiens. Regulation and one 5 minute OT would see the teams deadlocked at a 1-1 tie. However, the Preds were the better team in the shoot-out and walked away with the 2-1 victory. In the Quarter-Finals the Preds again needed OT to defeat the Mississauga Rebels 2-1 to earn a berth in the semi-finals. In the semi's the Midget's fell behind 3-0 early against the Richmond Hill Coyotes. The Preds would fight back eventually getting the tying goal with less then 30 seconds to play. In OT the Coyotes would score the winner and went on to win the Tournament.
This was a great showing for the NCP boys and playing seven games in 3 days, including 3 OT games quickly brought this group together and showed they were a competitive force in a tournament that started out with 38 teams in total.
Two weeks later, on the Thanksgiving Weekend, the Midget Predators participated in the Markham Majors Fall Classic and went 2-1 in Round Robin play. The Predators would eventually find themselves playing the Kitchener Jr. Rangers in the final game. The Preds had only 11 skaters for this game due to suspensions and injuries and had to take the ice for the final less then two hours after their semi-final victory. Playing hard for the guys that couldn't be on the ice the players fought out a gutsy 3-2 victory to win the Championship.
This a great start for the Midget team and a great sign that Midget Hockey can be a strong program for the North Central Predators Hockey Association.
#GO PREDS!!