The Baie Verte Sabres rattled and skated their way to the gold medal at the Atoms B Inter-Town Play Downs held at the Connaigre Arena in Harbour Breton from March 9 to 11.
The three team event included the Sabres, the Harbour Breton Hurricanes and the Bay d’Espoir Blizzard. The Atoms include players in the grades four and five age group.
The standings following regular round play saw the Sabres in first place with 6 points, while the Blizzard, on the strength of two wins, were in second place with four points. The Hurricanes rounded out the top three with two points.
The Blizzard players were gusting stronger than the Hurricanes in the semi-final game as they outshot their opponents by the wide margin of 40 to 13. Hurricanes’ goalie Sean Baker made some really good saves, but in the end the Blizzard skated away with a 5 to 2 win and the right to play for gold in the championship match.
In the final game the experience of the Sabres came through as they enjoyed a 6 to 1 lead over the Blizzard after two periods of play. The Blizzard played hard in the final frame but failed to score, and the Sabres won the gold medal and title of top team in the tournament.
Rob Robinson, the Sabres coach said, “I think the experience of my players came through over the weekend. Most of these players have been involved in the game for several years. The players work hard and our work ethic really came through for us this time around.
“This win was really good for us as we’ll take this momentum into the Easter tournament in La Scie.”
Frank Hoskins, the Blizzard coach said, “We had our chances to score early in the game and the momentum would have been different if we had scored early on. However, the Sabres played good hockey, and their experience and size really helped them today. We know that we have to work harder and this lesson will help us going into the Easter tournament.
Terry Baker is the coach of the Hurricanes.
“The players in Central, and in Bay d’Espoir, have managed to get more playing time than we did this season. We also have a few young players, but it’s hats off to the other teams that played really well here the weekend. Once we get more exposure and experience we’ll be a stronger team than we are today.”
