Washington Stealth

After one period, the Junior Stealth team led the Prince George Posse by a score of 5-1, which included a dramatic behind the back shot by Ty Ewen. By the end of the second, the Stealth Pee Wee team was up 9-1 with goal contributions from eight different players. After three periods the team had neatly clinched the first game of the tournament with an 11-2 win, earning the maximum 10 points (two points per period and four for a win). Ryan Sasek was named the team MVP.

After a break, the teams were back at it. While the Knights put in some spectacular shots, the lopsided score of 16-6 in favor of the Junior Stealth was evidence of this team’s potential at the tournament. Remaining perfect with 10 points, the Pee Wee team had a special performance from Ty Ewing, who earned the MVP award for generating five goals and an assist. It's worth noting that Ryan Sasek had an identical set of stats in the game. At the end of the first day, the Pee Wee’s were alone on the leaderboard with 20 points, followed by Denver Elite with 17 points.

In a first for any Junior Stealth team, Stealth Head Coach Chris Hall, along with Brett Hickey and Justin Salt coached the team to a victory with an 8-6 win and nine points (one tied period, two wins, and the game win). Elliott James and Nathanial Heritage both had hat tricks. Goalie Joe Kosick’s performance of holding off the hungry Sabrecats resulted in a well-deserved MVP honor.

With the referees calling a tight game, there were 25 minutes of penalties, with the Junior Stealth having 12 minutes worth and the Legends having 13. Special teams were key to success. The Junior Stealth made the most of the opportunity, scoring on power plays and holding the Legends to a single goal. Joe Kosick easily could have taken the MVP honors again, but Trevor West seemed to be everywhere; on breakaways and talking it up on defense, which kept his teammates inspired. West had four goals and one assist in the first period alone. Like the Pee Wee’s, the Bantam team stood at the top of the leader board at the end of Day 1.

After seeing their younger Jr. Stealth team take on Prince George Posse, the Midgets were not about to take the back seat. The physicality of the older youth teams was apparent and the final tally of 8-7 in favor of the Junior Stealth showed how closely matched this bracket would be during the tournament. Our young warriors displayed great heart earning their eight points, and Kaedyn Williams took the MVP prize for his hat trick. The game started with a commanding Stealth 4-1 lead, while Eli Batt, Zach Lorenz, Jason McLean, and James Wehe all added much needed goals to a tight game.

An afternoon break meant evening games for the midget team, which faced the Innisfail Phantoms. The Phantoms were no pushover for the Junior Stealth, but in the end the Washington team mustered the strength to prevail in a 5-3 win, good for nine points. Steele Fosth had a late goal with just 27 seconds on the clock, which kept the opponent from winning the third period and taking two points. Goalie Graham Husick won the MVP award for holding the opponent to just three goals in the 45 minute game. At days end, the Junior Stealth team was in second place with 17 points, just one point behind the Regina.

With a full night's rest and a 1:00Pm game start, the Pee Wee team was all smiles loading on the bus. On the floor, it took half the first period for the Junior Stealth to find the back of the net, but once they did the mighty offense never looked back. On defense, the team took a four minute penalty in the third period, but the Chiefs failed to capitalize leaving the Pee Wee team with another 10 point victory.

For the last game of the night, the Pee Wee team played the Standing Buffalo, which had looked tough in an earlier game. Coach Ratcliff had confidence in his team after three strong wins, though, and was not to be disappointed once the clock started. The Junior Stealth scored less than a minute into the match, and scored five more before Standing Buffalo answered. By the end of the second period, the score was 9-2 with Ty Ewen accounting for five of the nine. Ewen's performance was notable, as he had by this time played twice as many games as any other player, since he also played on the Bantam team.

The Bantams had a little extra sleep on Sunday, but faced the Winnipeg Elite in a battle of wills. Tied at 1-1 in the first, the Junior Stealth were then outscored in the second to close the period at 4-5. The teams traded goals during the third and with the game looking to end in a draw, Elliott James cut through the middle with a feed by Tyler Ewen and delivered the winning goal with just 14 seconds on the clock.

The late afternoon game was a difficult match for the competitor, who saw early penalties exploited by the Junior Stealth. Down 6-0, the opposing coach took his team off the turf in frustration only to return several minutes later to receive another penalty for delay of game. The Junior Stealth remained composed under the leadership of Coaches Hall and Hickey, and did well in sticking to the game plan. Seven different team members scored for the Junior Stealth, securing the right to play for gold in the next day. 

The Midget team started Sunday playing the Okotoks Mustangs at 8:00am. Tired legs and a tough competitor made for a low scoring game ending in a 2-2 tie. With each team winning one period and both failing to score in the second, the teams split the 10 points possible with five each. Ajay Culver and Kaedyn Williams found the back of the net for the Junior Stealth, with assists coming from Zack Lorenz and James Wehe.

With uncertainty in the standings due to the earlier tied game, the Midget team was determined to stand tall for its last game leading into playoffs. Shots missed wide or were deftly handled by the net minders for the first 12 minutes of the game, then the Junior Stealth unleased three in just over two minutes. Five minutes into the second period Eli Batt took a four minute penalty, but the Junior Stealth's man-down team managed to neatly kill and three others during the game without giving up a single goal. Batt's redemption was a hat trick, which was supplemented by four from Captain Kaedyn Williams.