The RJ Clarke U11 Kings set off for the provincial finals this past weekend with intent and determination to bring home a provincial championship for their home town. Unfortunately, they came up short in the semi-finals against a very skilled Milton Mavericks team.
The Kings come out on fire in the first game of the tournament against the Mimico Mountaineers. The Kings struck just nine seconds into the opening frame on a pretty passing play which saw Henry Whelan finishing it off for the goal. The Kings struck again six minutes later with a goal by Bennett Hamilton.
Goals from Jack Schryer and Bennett Gliddon rounded out the period, giving the Kings a 4-2 lead heading into the second. Hard hitting, strong defence and great goaltending shut down the Mountaineers for the remainder of the game while the Kings poured it on, scoring another seven goals in periods two and three en route to recording an 11-2 triumph.
Goal scorers for the game were Henry Whelan (3), Bennett Hamilton (2), Ethan Viherjoki (2), Jack Schryer (1), Bennett Gliddon (1), Benjamin Anderson (1), Levon Hayes (1). Assists for the game went to Kolby Thompson (2), Anderson (1), Devin Russell (1), Hamilton (1), Brock Caven (1), Levon Hayes (1), Whelan (1), and Holden Spurgeon (1).
In game two, the Kings ran into a familiar foe, as they battled against the always tough West Durham Rockmen. The Kings' record against West Durham was one win and one loss on the season with the Kings having the last win in the finals of the Rockmen's home tournament.
West Durham jumped out to an early lead, netting the opening goal four minutes into the period. Thompson responded with his first of the game less than two minutes later to knot the game at 1-1. West Durham would then retake the lead just two minutes after that but Orillia’s Jack Schryer found the back of the net less than 30 seconds later.
Orillia's Benjamin Anderson would increase the lead with three minutes remaining in the first period only to have the Rockmen knot up the score at 3-3 heading into the second period.
Thompson netted his second of the game 1:23 into the second period to give the Kings a 4-3 lead. Henry Whelan then potted his first of the game with 10:55 remaining in the second period. West Durham would score one more with 1:48 left in the second period to bring them to within one of the Kings heading into the final frame.
The third period saw some of the Kings' best defence as well as some very strong goaltending from netminder Jaxson Snider. The Kings held off a hungry Rockmen offence in the third to keep the score 5-4 for the final. Assists in the game went to Whelan (2), Bennett Hamilton (1), and Thompson (1).
The Kings were up against the Oakville Hawks 2 in their third game. Early on, the Kings ran into a hot goaltender and the score after the first period was only 1-0 on a goal from Tristan Crooke.
Period two is where the Kings would solve the red hot Hawks goalie, potting six in the period on goals from Crooke (2) completing his hat trick, Kolby Thompson (1), Jack Schryer (1), and Benjamin Anderson (2). The onslaught chased the starting goalie from the net. The next goalie did not fare much better against the slick shooting of the Kings. The Kings took a commanding 7-0 lead into the third and never took their foot off the gas pedal.
They would score five more times and Jaxson Snider and the Kings' strong defence would hold the Hawks completely off the scoresheet. Final score 12-0.
Goal scorers for the game were Tristan Crooke (3), Benjamin Anderson (3), Taylor Scheffel (2), Kolby Thompson (2) Jack Schryer (1), and Ethan Viherjoki (1). Assists on the goals for the game were Crooke (1) Jimmy Ray Roberts (1), Thompson (1), Bennett Gliddon (1), Bennett Hamilton (1), and Keldon Campbell (1).
The win would secure the Kings first place in their division and a matchup against the second-ranked team in the B division, the London Blue Devils, in the quarter finals.
With the temperatures outside reaching 40+ with the humidity, the Kings strapped on their work boots and went straight to work.
London would strike first six minutes into the period after a back-and-forth battle to open the game. Kolby Thompson would get the Kings back even less than a minute after scoring a goal to knot things up. Six seconds later, off the ensuing draw, the Blue Devils regained the lead 2-1.
Jack Schryer, Thompson, and Bennett Hamilton would get the Kings back on the score sheet and give the Kings a 4-2 lead heading into the middle frame. London would strike early into period two, pulling them to within one of the Kings, but Jack Schryer would increase the lead to 5-3 for the Kings heading into the third.
Kolby Thompson knotted his third of the game one minute into the third and the Kings never looked back. Benjamin Anderson notched back-to-back goals and Jaxson Snider was solid in net the rest of the way only allowing two more goals in the third as the Kings earned an 8-5 win.
Assists went to Anderson (1), Tristan Crooke (1), and Jimmy Ray Roberts (1). The win secured a berth into the semi-finals against the top-ranked Milton Mavericks.
The first five minutes of the semi-final game saw back-and-forth action with both teams failing to find the back of the net. Milton opened the scoring first but was answered quickly on a hard working goal from Tristan Crooke. Two minutes later, the Kings would take the lead on a goal from Benjamin Anderson.
The Kings would have plenty of scoring opportunities, but they could not solve the Mavericks goalie for the rest of the period. Milton would score two more goals in the first to take a 3-2 lead into the second period.
Milton would continue their scoring with two more in the second period before Henry Whelan responded with a beauty. Orillia would then run into penalty trouble late in the period along with some suspect refereeing and the Mavericks took full advantage. The Kings would be held off the score sheet in the final frame while the Mavericks scored four more in the final period to make the final 10-3 and eliminate the Kings. The lone assist in the game went to Holden Spurgeon.
The Kings would like to thank their main sponsor for the season RJ Clarke Financial as well as the other sponsors, Orillia Premier Truck and Trailer, Wes Brennan Construction, RM Fibreglass Structures, Muskoka Custom Contracting, Snider Super Shine, Erna Collins- Century 21, Kashe Boat Works, Ratcliff Auto Body and Highway 11 Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram.
Members of the RJ Clarke Financial U11 Kings are: Bennett Hamilton, Jack Schryer, Brock Caven, Benjamin Anderson, Taylor Scheffel, Tristan Crooke, Devin Russell, Henry Whelan, Holden Spurgeon, Tanner Snider, Kolby Thompson, Jimmy Ray Roberts, Keldon Campbell, Ethan Viherjoki, Levon Hayes, Maximus Fryer, Bennett Gliddon and goalie Jaxson Snider.
The Kings were coached by Chad Thompson, Adam Hamilton, Tobias Whelan and were assisted by trainer Annette Roberts, and team manager Jeanette Hamilton. Thanks to all for an amazing season.
