To get through to the championship game of the prestigious Esso Atlantic Major Bantam Tournament requires a group of players committed to approach the task as young professionals, knowing that success will bring a hard grind of 7 games over 4 days.  The Hurricanes program knows all too well what it takes having won two of the last three Esso Atlantic Championship tournaments.  All season, this year’s edition of the Hurricanes have been surprising people outside of the organization with their play, however, within the family, it’s known that they are up to the tasks and capable of great things.

On Thursday, twenty of the top major bantam hockey teams in Atlantic Canada met in Halifax for the start of the tournament with a slew of preliminary games at rinks throughout Halifax.

The Hurricanes opened up game # 1 with a match up with the Pictou County Crushers.  The Hurricanes threw a ton of pucks at Pictou goaltender on route to a 4 – 1 win to start off the tournament.  Connor Barnhill was named player of the game.  With only two hours until the next game, a quick rest and recovery saw the team play extremely hard and dig deep for a 5 – 1 victory over a very good Summerside Capitals team.  Ian MacPhee was named player of the game.  After day one, two wins.

Day #2 brought on the always tough Cape Breton Cougars squad who were also undefeated up to this point.  A complete team effort by every player on both ends of the ice resulted in a big 4 – 0 shutout victory over the Cape Breton squad.  Parke Rowter earned the shutout.  Walter Flower was named player of the game.

Day # 3 had the Hurricanes is a good position to qualify for the quarter finals based on the past three games but still needed to win some points against the Fredericton Canadiens who were fighting for their playoff lives.  This game was a battle with the Canadiens tenacious play.  The Hurricanes were resilient and fought hard to a 3 – 2 win.  Matt Sabean was named player of the game.

With the preliminary round completed by all teams by early afternoon on Day # 3, now it was time for the tournament organizers to do the math on what top 8 teams qualified for the quarterfinals.  When that was all done, Hurricanes were ranked 3^rd overall only half a point from first overall.

Onto the quarterfinals with a match up against an excellent Nova Jr. Xmen team.  This game proved to be a classic game as the Hurricanes gave everything they had to win a thrilling double overtime 4 – 3 win with the winner coming off Jacob Myra’s stick.  During regulation, the Brad Jones, Michael Anthony and Alex King line were on fire getting all three regulation goals.  Parker Rowter was named player of the game.  Excitement was in the building and in every Hurricane player but no time to celebrate to long as an early Sunday morning semi-final was now in the plans.

Sunday morning final four brought on the Bedford Barons who are leading the standings of the NSMBHL and are just coming off a championship win at the Maritime Cup in Saint John.  From the first drop of the puck, it was evident both teams were there to play hard and space was limited in a very tight checking game.  Commitment to detail and systems proved to be successful because at the end of the second period, Hurricanes Ian MacPhee potted what proved to be the winner with a quick release as the Hurricanes shutout the powerful Barons team with a 1- 0 win to earn a berth in the championship game and a chance to defend their title.  Incredible display of sacrifice and commitment to a team win by all players.  Adam Grimmitt earned the shutout and was named player of the game.

Heading into the Sunday afternoon championship game, Hurricane players were banged up and down to 4 healthy defensemen but no excuses from a determined team.  The final two teams standing were the Hurricanes and the Cape Breton Cougars who had defeated Halifax in their respective semi final game.  Ironically, this year’s championship game was a rematch from last year’s final where the Hurricanes defeated the Cape Breton squad in a classic game by a score of 3 – 2.  The two teams didn’t disappoint the fans this year either.  End to end action with chances at both ends and hard board battles taking the score to 1 – 1 midway through the third period until Cape Breton sniper Derek Gentile scored a shorthanded goal to make it 2 – 1.  In the final 5 minutes, Hurricanes shooters threw pucks at the net and despite glorious chances, the Cape Breton squad held on for a 2 – 1 championship victory leaving the Hurricanes with a hard earned silver medal.  Jacob Myra was named championship game player of the game.

On behalf of the entire Hurricanes organization, congratulations a very solid Cape Breton organization on a deserved win.  The Hurricanes and Cape Breton team have had some good battles over the years and this was another one of those.

As well, 5 Hurricane players took home some tournament hardware as recognized by the tournament award committee.   Captain Matt Barron was named to the First Team All Star on forward, Assistant captain Walter Flower was named to First Team All Star on Defense.  Parker Rowter and Adam Grimitt were named Top Goaltenders of the tournament, sharing the honour.  As well, Jacob Myra was given the prestigious Most Dedicated Player of the tournament award for skill, leadership and all around solid play. 

The ownership and executive of the Hurricanes are proud of the coaches and players who make up of this team. We are proud of the continuous improvement, commitment to hard work and to each other.  An impressive commitment of two way hockey, only allowing 9 goals against in 7 games is something to be proud of.

Congratulations Hurricanes on a job well done and a well earned silver medal.  This weekend, it’s back to regular season NSMBHL action with two road games.  Saturday at Bay Gulls and Sunday at Halifax.

GO HURRICANES !!!!