The Atom AAA team was one of sixteen teams from the OMHA and GTHL who competed in the Canadiens' Cup this weekend. They eventually hoisted the cup as they went undefeated in the whole tournament.
Their first game was against the host team, the Toronto Junior Canadiens. This game was a hard-fought battle which saw JRC get the first goal, but the Colts scored next and both teams traded goals until the 3rd period, when the Colts eventually won 4-3. Jordan Knight was Barrie’s player of the game.
The second game was against an Buffalo-area team, the West Seneca Wings. The Colts were very solid all game and eventually came away with a 6-0 victory. Mitch Delaire was the player of the game, scoring a hat-trick.
Saturday’s first opponent was the Waterloo Wolves. Barrie was very solid defensively in this game with Gavin Ewles winning the player of the game award. The score was 4-0 in Barrie's favour.
In the afternoon match, the Colts faced the undefeated Gloucester Rangers. Once again, the Colts were the better team on the ice, as they came away with a 10-0 victory. Connor Champaigne scored his first hat-trick of the season and won Barrie’s most valuable player award.
Undefeated in round-robin play, the Colts faced the Whitby Wildcats in the semi-final game on Sunday. Five different players scored goals as Barrie won 5-1. The player of the game was goalie, Aidan Amidovski, who made many great saves.
The tournament final was an incredibly exciting game: a rematch between the Colts and Junior Canadiens. JRC scored the first goal of the game in the second period, and Barrie wasn't able to score until the last two minutes in regulation, when Carson Rehkopf tied it up on a beautiful pass from Cameron Mercer.
The first overtime period saw the teams play 4-on-4; however, despite many good chances, neither team was able to get a winner. In the double-overtime period, the teams played 3-on-3. Once again, the goalies for both teams were spectacular, which led to a dramatic shoot-out.
On the first shot, Larry Keenan did an impressive move and deked the goalie before putting his back-hand top-shelf, bringing the excited Barrie fans out of their seats. Goalie Ashton “Shawzee” Shaw stood on his head and kept all three JRC shooters from scoring, which earned him Barrie’s MVP award of the game. Gloves were thrown and helmets removed as the Colts won this incredibly close and exciting match by the score of 2-1.
Congratulations to the Barrie Atom Colts, Canadiens’ Cup champions!!
Check out Larry's winning shootout goal at the following link: https://youtu.be/hAlKzfeMnCI