25th Cec Styles Mount Pearl Christmas Tournament Ends in Style

news2018-01-02
The 25th edition of the Mount Pearl Christmas Tournament dedicated to the memory of long-time Blades volunteer Cec Styles ended in style on Saturday with six division titles declared. In the Peewee A title bout, the RBC Falcons jumped out to a 3-1 lead on a pair of goals by Elias Marner and a single marker from Jack Hopkins, before the RBC Hawks rallied back to tie the game late on a superb rush by Finley Dobbin. Earlier, the Hawks got snipes from Devin Down and Ryder Lewis. When a five minute sudden victory period solved nothing, a shoot-out held the large crowd on edge. Both Logan Knee for the Hawks and Scott Kirby for the Falcons were up to the task. A slick five-hole shot by Jack Hopkins was the only shoot-out goal, allowing the Falcons to claim gold. In the Bantam A championship game, solid goaltending from the Warriors' Josh Pretty and the Thrashers' Hunter White kept the game scoreless until the shifty Evan Raymond took advantage of a Thrashers defensive turnover to dangle through the defense for the game's first marker early in the third period. The Thrashers eventually tied the game with two minutes left on a wrist shot from speedy Josh Murray. That set the stage for Captain William Lynch to seal the deal for the Thrashers. Lynch rushed into the Warriors defensive zone midway through the five minute overtime period and unleashed a backhander that eluded the glove of Warriors goalie Josh Pretty for the golden goal of the 2-1 match. Earlier in the day, the St. John's Caps claimed both Atom titles over two equally competitive Paradise Warrior teams. In the Atom B final the Caps got goals from Rowan Antle and Luke Rudofski to edge the Warriors 2-1. In the Atom A final, Chris Dillon with help from Noah Boland scored a first period power play for the Caps. That remained the lone goal until Landon Halbot scored unassisted for the Caps early in the third. Tate Dobbin scored late in the third to set up the exciting finish to the well-played game. Over 400 fans at Glacier 1 took in the 2-1 Caps Atom A victory over the Warriors. Elsewhere, goalie Eric Coates and the CBR Renegades won by a decisive 5-1 result over the Goulds Pacers in the Bantam B gold medal game and a late goal by Rylan Swain proved golden for the Gould Pacers in a 2-1 victory over the Mount Pearl Blades for the Peewee B title. 94 games, featuring 38 teams over the Christmas holidays. A major salute of gratitude from the DJHL to Blades Minor Hockey for making it all happen year after year.