The Nickel City Major Bantam "AAA" Sons captured gold at the Wendy Dufton Memorial Tournament in London last weekend with a performance that included four wins and a tie, as well as plenty of drama in the semis and final.
Goals from Zacharie Giroux, Brandon Hass, Josh Kavanagh and Mitchell Martin got things rolling for the Sons, who doubled the Southern Tier Admirals 4-2 right out of the gate.
Still plenty of balance on the attack in game two as Alex Antoine, Devon Savignac, Jimmy Blanchard, Ethan Marois and Max McCue all found their way on to the scoresheet as Nickel City upended the Barrie Jr. Colts 5-3.
Despite outshooting the Sun County Panthers 34-12, the Sons needed a goal from McCue with under three minutes remaining to salvage a 2-2 tie in game three, with Martin potting the remaining tally.
Back to form in their round robin finale as coach Chris McInnis and company whitewash the London Jr. Knights 4-0. Goaltender Jake Marois recorded the shutout, receiving more than enough offensive support from McCue and Cameron Walker, both with two goals apiece.
The real fun, however, began in the semi-finals as the local crew opposed the tournament favourite Ottawa Valley Titans. The Titans snapped a 2-2 tie, netting a go-ahead goal with roughly 4:30 remaining in regulation time.
Pulling their goalie with more than three minutes on the clock, the Sons were rewarded when Savignac evened things at 3-3 with only five seconds to play. A ten minute four on four overtime session solved nothing, forcing the teams to decide matters in a shootout.
With both Giroux and McCue making good on their penalty shots and Marois stoning back to back Ottawa shooters, the Nickel City reps were off to the finals. Alex Antoine and Brady Smith had scored earlier in the game.
No reason to cruise to victory as the Sons again helped keep their fans on the edge of their seats, surrendering a game-tying goal in the dying minutes before edging the North Central Predators 5-4, in overtime, as Max McCue drilled home the tournament winning marker.
Giroux, Marois, Walker and Chris Innes all scored in regulation time, helping to set up their teammate's heroics.
