With the sound of the final buzzer the Atom AE Lambeth Lancers had won
the Bob Tansley Memorial 2018 tournament. The Lancers had shown
up early and untested on Friday morning, but after three days of hockey
battles, the Atom AE Lancers emerged victorious Sunday afternoon.
The Lancers fired out of the gate Friday morning ready to prove to everyone that they were the team to beat. The Lancers not only set the pace early on but they solidified in everyone’s mind that they were the team to beat.
The Lancers won 8-1 and 8-2 over Simcoe, and Shelbourne respectively.
On day two, the Lancers showed up to play again. The boys were energised and excited but found themselves down by two early in the first period. After a little refocusing the Lancers started strategically breaking down the opposition to go on to defeat the Dunnville Mudcats 7-2.
After the first two days of tournament play, the Lancers topped the leaderboard in games won, and earliest goal scored. The Lancers had also locked in the top point earners with Fryer, Nevison, and Skwark in the top 3. Fowler, not to be out done netted double hat tricks to finalise the teams two-day run.
The Lancers had earned the right to move on to the semi against the Tillsonburg tornadoes. This was going to be a game that as a coach, had kept me lying awake at night. We had observed this team during the previous days match ups and we knew that The Tornadoes would be fierce and quick- and they truly lived up to that billing!
Our game against Tillsonburg was an unbelievable experience. This game could have gone either way. Creutz-Smith kept this game close making crucial saves when it counted and keeping the momentum on our side. It wasn’t until the final minutes that Rogers made a pivotal decision to pinch and rocket a beautiful shot in the top corner just over the goalie’s glove to secure our position in the finals.
Our final match against Dunnville was now locked in. We knew that this team would not just hand over this trophy for the championship game. And they did Not disappoint. The Mudcats arrived ready to play, but so did The Lancers. Lambeth played with grit, excitement and tonnes of heart. Our goal tender Walker made amazing save after save which allowed our team to focus on breaking down and scoring against this formidable team.
The final buzzer sounded, and the gloves shot into the air. The Lambeth Lancers rushed the ice and celebrated around their goalie. They came together as a team, they won as a team. But more importantly they left believing that they were a team.
This was a great tournament and these victories couldn’t have come at a better time for these boys.
Great tournament Lambeth Lancers. You showed spirit, grit and tones of heart!
You played for the trophy but in the end, you won our respect!