Nov 20, 2016 | Steve | 838 views
Atom AE Kinucks snatch Chris Knott Tournament Championship
Although happy with their Tillsonburg Tournament Final appearance. The Boston Pizza sponsored Atom AE team would head up the road to Port Elgin, for the Chris Knott Tournament, hopeful for a big result.
The tournament hardly started as the Kinucks kids and coaching staff might have hoped, when they opened with a 3-2 overtime loss against the hosting Saugeen Shores Storm. Despite having forced the game into overtime with a late Murray Collins bullet, the Kinucks were really deserving of their loss. Simply put, they were outworked by a well coached Saugeen Shores team, who have recently proven to be a bit of a nemesis with the Kinucks continually providing lackluster displays. Harsh but true!
One thing that should be mentioned from the opening game is the performance of Jordan Wall between the pipes for Kincardine. Jordan was more like the 'Berlin Wall' in this one, while his teammates owe him a thank you for keeping the game close.
An improved effort in game two saw these young Kinucks grab a well deserved victory against the Paris Wolfpack. The 'Wolfpack' were sent home with their tails between their legs as the Kinucks battled to a 5-2 victory. The Kinucks forwards were buzzing with Koby Palmer leading a line supported by wingers Mitch Desmond, Beckett Graham and Zak Fletcher. The other line would be Ethan Kaminski, Jordan McDonald and Jude Hodgins and it would be 2 goals from Kaminski and a hat trick from McDonald, that would garuantee the points for Kincardine.
The last remaining group game would be do or die for Kincardine to advance to the finals, against the Lincoln Blades. In a fairly reasonable day for "Captain Marvel' Jordan MacDonald, the Kinucks would fight back from 2-0 down only to win 3-2 in overtime, while McDonald would again pick up another hat trick! Topping all of that off McDonald would also win in the skills competition, later that night... Not a bad day.. Not too bad at all!!
So, the final would see the Kinucks up against the same strong Lincoln Blades team, once again. The game would prove to be a classic and that is no exaggeration. It had it all. The Kinucks were epic from start to finish, yet they somehow found themselves trailing 3-1 and heading into the third period. The Blades goalie had been outstanding but, on this occasion, the Kinucks must've wondered how they could be losing? A frantic third period was not for the faint hearted. It was honestly one of the most exciting games I have ever seen. The Kinucks efforts were admirable, as the Palmer, Desmond, Graham and Fletcher line were a fore checking thorn in the side of the Blades. Equally the pinching in of Carnell, Bronkhorst, Drake and Murray had the kids from Lincoln stuck in their end.
With all of that said, trailing 3-1 and starting 2 minutes of penalty killing in the third, the Kinucks appeared to be doomed. Obviously nobody had told Ethan Kaminski this, as he provided the TSN turning point with probably one of the best short handed goals I have ever seen! Skating up the left wing his shot would be turned away by the Blades goalie, allowing Lincoln to counter attack. Kaminski then backchecked the length of the ice, stole to puck from the Blades forward before he could shoot. He then proceeded to skate the length of the ice again, as he deked past the entire team and fired a bullet wrist shot into the Lincoln net! What a goal!
As if this wasn't enough, seconds later, the Kinucks would again grab another short handed goal through Jude Hodgins. The game was tied at three! What a thriller!
Next up, would be a 5 on 3 powerplay, in favour of Kincardine. Murray Collins inched in from the blue line before firing a shot that was again turned in by Hodgins. 4-3 to the Kinucks with only minutes remaining. This was turning into some kind of fictional fairy story!
Just as the Kinucks looked to be champions, the Blades would break through on a one on one with 20 seconds remaining. The audience and coaching staff were having heart attacks, only for Jack Anderson to provide an epic save in the Kincardine net! What a save! What a game! Anyone that had the privaledge to see it, will likely talk about it for years to come..
The AE Atom Kinucks are champions and this write up will likely sound like some fictional Mighty Ducks script. However, this game actually happened and Kincardine were victorious. The parents drank some beers and they all lived happily ever after. The end!