Trying to duplicate the major atom A Shamrocks improbable win in 1998 – the last time a Hespeler team hosted a provincial tournament –the bantam A squad overcame their underdog status to win the Ontario Hockey Federation title on Sunday, beating the Greater Toronto Hockey League champion Duffield Devils 4-1 in the final at the Hespeler Arena.
Ousted in Ontario Minor Hockey Association quarterfinals, just like the major atom team 11 years ago, the Shamrocks faced the winner of four different hockey organizations. Things didn’t get any easier when they stumbled through the round robin with a 1-2-1 record, placing them in fourth after four games, ahead of only the winless Northern Ontario Hockey League champion Hearst Lumber Kings.
The Shamrocks then did what many thought was impossible and edged the previously unbeaten OMHA champion Barrie Colts – who easily handled the Shamrocks the day before in the final round robin game 6-1 –in the semifinal by a score of 3-2. The Shamrocks jumped out to a 3-0 first-period lead and held off the Colts to make the final.
Hespeler completed the day by beating a strong Duffield team that finished their regular season with a 36-0-0 record and beat the Waterloo Wolves 3-2 in double overtime in the semifinals.
Few gave the Shamrocks a chance of beating Barrie, but they rode that high right through the finals.
“We were the underdogs in every game here. We knew that if we just played our game and take it to them we have a chance against every team,” said Shamrocks captain Ben Poort, who scored what turned out to be the eventual tournament winner in the second period.
“We have a great bunch of guys here and it was a lot of fun.”
One of the big factors for the Shamrocks was the play of goalie Shayne Connors. The big tender shut down a powerhouse Colts offence in the semifinals, including two big saves with 30 seconds left and Barrie pressing for the equalizer. He was just as steady in the final, not allowing the Devils to get any momentum.
“I think my performance in the semifinals helped me prepare for the finals,” said Connors, who was deservedly named tournament MVP.
“I think I had a good tournament overall, but the team played very well in front of me. I stepped up my game a lot. I didn’t expect for us to come this far in the tournament at all.”
Head coach Will Coros said prior to the tournament that the team’s strength was its defence and that shone through in the playoff round.
“They played the game plan,” Coros said.
“Our defence was tough all the way through the tournament and did what they had to do to be successful. Goaltending and ‘D’ is what got us here, and that got us through the championship game.
“I’ve been wanting this for them since the day we knew we won the bid. I knew they had it in them, it was just difficult to get them to believe it themselves.”
Coros added that, all along, the initial goal was to make the playoff round and then see what happens.
“Anything can happen in a one-game series. We played our hearts out against Barrie and the momentum was there. They wanted it; they were hungry and they went out and got it,” he said.
It also didn’t hurt that the Shamrocks saw the Devils cheering when they beat Barrie. Duffield beat Hespeler 2-1 in the round robin, but lost to Barrie 4-2. They must have thought the hosts were the better of two evils. Guess again.
“Yeah, we knew they wanted to play us instead of Barrie,” said Poort.
“So we thought, OK, come and play us and we’ll beat ya.”
The Shamrocks did just that by scoring in every period and building a lead they would never relinquish.
Hespeler came out with some jump to start the game, but weren’t rewarded until they had a 5-on-3 power play, as things got a little chippy. Ryan Goncalves took a pass from Tyler Garside at the bottom of the faceoff circle and beat goalie Conor Lewis from a bad angle.
The Shamrocks got into penalty trouble after that, but managed to kill off four straight penalties, including a 5-on-3 disadvantage for almost two minutes.
T h e Shamrocks didn’t quit though and i n c re a s e d the lead with teams playing 4- on-4 when Poort found a wobbling puck in the slot and ripped it off the post and in.
Hespeler made it 3-0 in early in the third when Jake Loro’s point shot found the top corner, but that only seemed to inspire the Devils to play desperate hockey.
The Devils pelted Connors and finally beat him on a power play with less than six minutes left, but the Shamrocks got that one back 50 seconds later when Talton Conway redirected Stephen Pope’s pass by Lewis.
The Shamrocks had a relatively easy time holding the lead after that, as the frustrated Devils spent the remainder of the game shorthanded.
