BY KEITH LACEY
A group of Tigers from Rayside-Balfour is hoping to roar into Newmarket this weekend and win one of the biggest tournaments these young hockey players might ever play in.
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Far back: Coach Noel Caya, manager Eric Suosalo, trainer Bob Sutherland, and coach Denis Castonguay. Players in back row: Ethan Suosalo, Bradley Randerson, Patrick Roy, Andre-Michel Carriere, Justin Sutherland, and Julie Hebert; middle row: Chris Joyce, Kory Caya, Patrick Lalonde, Joel Gagnon, Colin Castonguay and Mathieu Germaine; front row: Natalie Vincent and Jordan Hyatt. |
The Rayside-Balfour Peewee A Tigers captured their division at the Red Hamill Silver Stick Hockey Tournament in Sudbury one month ago.
This qualified them to compete this weekend at the International Silver Stick tournament, set for Newmarket this weekend.
The Tigers will be facing off against seven other teams in the Peewee A division, including several teams from the United States and other regional champions from Ontario.
?Not all of our guys realize the magnitude of playing in an international tournament like this, but this is a big deal,? said team manager Eric Suosalo.
It?s already been a tremendous year on the ice for the Tigers. The team is in second place in the Sudbury Minor Hockey Association playing against AA teams.
And on top of winning the regional Silver Stick, they have also captured the championship at tournaments in Bradford in November and Belleville a couple of weeks ago.
?We have a unique team in that the coaches didn?t name any captains or assistant captains,? said Suosalo. ?We stress the team concept and firmly believe that we win as a team and lose as a team and no one individual is more important than the other.?
The Tigers take to the ice today to play two games and then play their third game Saturday afternoon. Semi-finals take place Saturday evening with the championship game set for Sunday afternoon.
