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The Citizen, 2017-01-05, Page 8PAGE 8. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JANUARY 5, 2017. Sports Novice Crusaders undefeated at Silver Stick tourney One impressive season The Blyth Brussels Novice Rep Crusaders took gold in the International Silver Stick tournament late last year. Back row, from left: Manager Pete Albers, Assistant Coach Clint Fischer, Colton Radford, Dylan Lee, Peter Albers, Taylor Wharton, Nate Fritz, Luke Fischer, Assistant Coach Brett Fischer and head coach Greg Fritz. Front row: Quinn Cox, Bo Wharton, Reed Fischer, Brady Finch, Boden Lyons and Jack Nicholson. (Photo submitted) The Blyth Brussels Novice Rep Crusaders team were undefeated and took the top spot at the Kincardine Silver Stick Tournament during the Christmas holidays. The tournament, which ran Dec. 27-30, contributed to what has been an impressive season for the team, bringing their total record to 22 wins, two losses and one tie. Coach Greg Fritz said the entire tournament was tough for the team as each game was close and many were come -from -behind wins. "The tournament went really well and the boys played very well," he said. "The games were close all the way through." On Dec. 30, the final game saw the Crusaders edge out the Shallow Lake Lakers 5-3, who had, earlier in the tournament, ended a seven -game winning streak for the team by playing them to a tie. The Crusaders' drive for the gold - medal game started with a 5-3 win over Wallace Sabres on Dec. 28. Later that day, the squad took to the ice against the Hagersville Devils, Bantams capture tourney gold Big winners The Blyth Brussels Bantam Crusader Rep squad won the Kincardine Silver Stick championship over the Christmas holidays. Back row from left: Dean Newson, Gene Johnston, Dakota Coultes, Kesler Jardin, Myles Johnston, Adam Shortreed, Carson Heise, Ty Drennan, Head Coach Jerry Zwep, Max Johnston, Rylee Chalmers, Mel Coultes, Jason Wilts. Front row: Ty McNichol, Devin Johnston, Assistant Captain Cole Zwep, Captain Alex Coultes, Assistant Captain Mason Weber, Nolan McCutcheon and Max Newson. (Photo submitted) The Blyth Brussels Bantam Rep Crusaders took the top spot in the Kincardine Silver Stick tournament over the Christmas holiday after several hard-fought wins. The final match of the tournament was against West Grey on Dec. 30, who had bested the Crusaders earlier in the tournament. After battling through three periods the Crusaders found themselves in a 3-3 tie with West Grey. Both teams were scoreless after a five-minute period of four - on -four hockey and a second overtime was necessary. Early in the second overtime period, Blyth Brussels slipped one past the West Grey goalie to earn the Silver Stick trophy, and advance to the International Silver Stick tournament on January 20-22 in Forest, Ontario. The path to the final game was a series of well played games by the Crusaders. Their first opponent was West Grey on Dec. 27 where the team fell short in a 3-2 loss. The Rep squad bounced back later that day in their second game with a decisive 4-1 win over Wingham. Game three was an early morning battle on Dec. 28 with Minto where the Crusaders played strong defense and won with a final score of 2-0. This win secured them a spot in the semi-final, but the Crusaders would need to wait until late in the afternoon to learn that their opponent for the semi-final game would be perennial rivals, the Wingham Ironmen. Blyth Brussels had faced Wingham five times leading up to this game this year, including the previous tournament win, and Wingham had won three of those matches. The Crusaders team stepped up and played like champions, and challenged Wingham on every shift. At the final buzzer the score was 2-1 in favour of the team from Blyth Brussels. The final win over West Grey in the final game sealed the deal. The squad also took on the Arthur Vipers for their first regular season game of the new year on Jan. 4, though a score wasn't available at press time. Next for the Bantam Rep Crusaders is the 38th annual Groundhog Hockey Tournament hosted by South Kent. The squad starts things off with games against the Walkerton Capitals on Jan. 6 and Belmont on Jan. 7, both in Ridgetown. The Forest International Silver Stick will start on Jan. 20 with the Crusaders taking on the Mariposa Lighting at the Watford Arena. The puck drops at 12:40 p.m. MEETING NOTICE Municipality of Morris-Turnberry The upcoming meetings for the Municipality of Morris-Turnberry will be held: Tuesday, January 10, 2017 Tuesday, January 24, 2017 Monday, January 30, 2017 Tuesday, January 31, 2017 at 7:30 p.m. at 5:00 p.m. at 7:30 p.m. at 7:30 p.m. Regular Council Meeting Budget Meeting Official Plan Regular Council Meeting earning a 6-4 win. On Dec. 29, the Crusaders saw their only non -win of the tournament, playing Shallow Lake to a 4-4 tie before beating the Georgian Shores Lighting 5-4. "The kids never gave up," Fritz said. "We were down in several games going into the second period. In the semi-final game against Georgian Shores, we were down 3-1 going into the third and the kids fought back." After the tournament, the squad resumed their winning ways, besting the Arthur Vipers 9-7 in Blyth on Dec. 31, marking their third win in a new streak. The team next takes to the ice in Brussels on Jan. 7 against the Seaforth Stars. For the International Silver Stick, in which the team earned a berth by winning the Kincardine Silver Stick, the Crusaders will be travelling south of the border to St. Clair Shores, Michigan. The tournament is the weekend of Jan. 20 and Fritz said he thinks the team will have a lot of fun, having been to the Novice tournament with another squad several years ago. One impressive season Shortly after capturing Silver Stick gold, the Blyth Brussels Novice Rep Crusaders squad returned home to play a game on New Year's Eve in Blyth. The Crusaders beat the Arthur Vipers 9-7. (Shawn Loughlin photo) • Colour Printing • Posters • Letterheads • Envelopes • Business Cards • Business Forms • Brochures • Flyers • Carbonless Forms