Midget Majors/Bantams Lose Tough Ones to Shattuck St. Marys

The Midget Majors ran into a hot goaltender today as Shattucks (former team of NHL Superstar Sidney Crosby) triumphed over the Pittsburgh Hornets by a score of 3-0. The play was fast and furious over 3 periods as the Shattucks team slow eeked out a lead and while the Hornets responded with a strong attack, they just couldn't solve the Shattucks goalie (and some most "interesting" officiating to say the least") as they ended up with their first loss of the tournament. They are still in good position to make the medal round with a victory tomorrow.

On the younger front, the Pittsburgh Hornets Bantam U14 suffered a heartbreaking defeat losing 3-2 with about 5 minutes left in overtime to the Shattuck St. Marys U14 Bantam team. The Hornets took an initial lead of 1-0 right off of the first shift as Brody Auckerman through hard work outskated the Shattucks defenseman into the zone, grabbing the puck and sliding a perfect pass to Andrew Ong for the first goal. The play went back and forth, up and down the ice for the next 2 periods as Shattucks came roaring back and built a 2-1 lead. But before the second period ended, Chris Cummings flattened a Shattucks puck carrier against the board, freeing the puck where a flying Drew Williams picked up the loose biscuit and swooped in taking a hard low shot on goal. The goalie made a fantastic save, kicking the puck right out onto the stick of Matt White for the tying goal.

The game went 2-2 into overtime when both teams had many chances with the Hornets hitting the post twice while Matt Skoff stoned Shattucks until finally the puck took an unlucky bounce in front of the Hornet net where a Shattucks player pounded the puck home for a Shattucks victory.

Some of the scouts watching the contest thought it was one of the best games of the tournament as a scout from the New York Rangers gave the boys a pep talk in the locker room after the game about continuing to play hard, support their teammates and strive for excellence both on and off the ice. The feeling amongst the coaches, the parents and the fans in the stands was that this was one heck of a game, and everyone was very proud of the U14 Bantam Hornets

And a tip of the hat to the Shattuck St. Marys teams that the Hornets played today. Though we competed hard today and came out of the day with the Hornet program winning once and loosing twice today to Shattucks, the Hornets are all about class, excellence and respect, both in our endeavors on and off the ice. And we respect that same approach when we compete against teams that share the same values that we do, like Shattucks St. Marys.

With a program that include coaches like Tom Ward, Murray Eaves and Director of Prospect Evaluations J.P. Parise, these guys are doing it right in developing top notch hockey players and student athletes. Their teams are very well coached and the players are all class kids (you can see it in their play and behavior on the ice) and an absolute pleasure to compete against. Good luck to Shattucks the rest of the tournament!