Jan 13, 2014 | Paul Van Zant | 3122 views
Orangeville Flyers Bantam AE - International Silver Stick Champions
Congratulations to the Orangeville Flayers Bantam AE team! On Sunday the Flyers won the International Silver Stick tournament with a hard fought 3-2 victory over the Oakville Rangers in the finals.
The Flyers showed their skill, determination and team work throughout the tournament. In the preliminary round, Orangeville defeated Collingwood 6-2 in their opener, then shut out both Ilderton (7-0) and Mt. Pleasant, Michigan (12-0) to finish atop their division.
Saturday morning saw the Flyers take on Ennismore in their quarterfinal matchup. The boys jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead in the opening minutes, before cruising to an 11-0 final and a berth in the semis.
Orangeville's semi-final opponents, the Alabama Jr. Frozen Tide, put up a valiant effort, but once again the Flyers dominated from the opening face off in a game that ended in a 6-0 victory.
The finals saw the team face their TriCounty rivals the Oakville Rangers - one of only three teams to defeat the Flyers this season. The Flyers jumped out to a three goal lead after two periods. A couple of costly penalties allowed the Rangers to climb back into the game, setting up a final five minutes of some of the most exciting hockey Flyers fans have seen all season. The two teams hammered away at each other, but in the end the Flyers were able to shut the door and hang on for hard-fought and well-deserved 3-2 victory.
The victory in the Silver Stick finals marked the team's 50th win of the season against only 3 losses and a single tie. The International Silver Stick title was also the 5th tournament championship earned this season. Twenty five tournament games were played during that stretch, and the boys won them all by a combined score 145 goals for, versus only 22 goals against!
An outstanding regular season record of 24-3-1 propelled the Flyers to the top of the TriCounty standings. The next challenge for the team will be the OMHA preliminaries, which start on January 19th at 6:00 in Alder Red when the Flyers face the Flamborough Sabres. Go Flyers Go!