Mar 08, 2015 | mhalsted | 2187 views
Pelham Flames win the 51st Port Colborne Golden Puck
Following their exceptional victory at the "Dresden Kinsmen Cup" the Pelham Flames were looking to add a little more hardware to their trophy case when they headed to Port Colborne to compete in the 51st "Golden Puck" Tournament on February 20th. The coaching staff were excited heading into the tournament as their team was riding a 9 game win streak and they knew the potential these boys had to "deliver."
In the first game against one of the host teams from Port - "in typical Flames fashion" - they got off to a blazing start and scored three quick goals in the first period. Staying puck hungry, playing great defence and with the strong net minding, the White team from Port could only manage one goal. The Flames squeezed in four more goals for an impressive 7-1 win, much to the delight of their amazing fans.
With the tournament being a little closer to home it allowed more of the Flames fans to make the road trip to the Vale Centre and support their team. The victory in game #1 was celebrated with moms, dads, brothers, sisters, grand parents, family friends, snowman, and of course... the amazing staff at The Belmont for "team bonding at it's best."
Next up was the scrappy team from Hagersville who were one of the favourites coming into the event, but they were no match for the well rounded attack of the Flames. Exceptional team play snuffed out their hopes and the Flames cruised to an 8-1 victory. To celebrate the second win AND for some additional...let's call them "team building exercises" the group headed back to The Belmont.
The next game would be played at 8:00 am on Sunday morning against the "Wild" team from Lincoln. This would complete the Pool B round robin and a victory would secure a number one seed in the semi finals for the Flames. Once again they came out flying with three quick goals in the first period and never looked back. With a final score of 6-1, it assured the flames another trip to a tournament semi final and extended their win streak to 12 consecutive games.
As enticing as another trip to The Belmont would have been, it was important for the team to remain focused and watch as their upcoming opponents played to secure their spot in the semi final game. Port Colborne "Red", another of the host teams was the winning team to move on and face the Flames for a chance to advance to the finals.
Although the Flames were undefeated in the first three games, they were not going to take the Red team lightly and boy did they deliver. A glance up at the scoreboard after the first period would show a favourable score of 7-1, confidently leading them to their second straight tournament final. When the buzzer ended the game score was 15-4 and it was time to prepare for the trophy win.
The finals would be played against Grimsby, another team with 4 straight wins. The battle was going to be tough but the flames were ready for the challenge. . It was a classic sea saw battle that kept all Flames fans on their feet, 1-1...2-2...3-3... It looked like the game may go into overtime but with less than three minutes left in the final period the Flames broke away from the pack to make it 4-3. For the next three minutes flames fans paced the stands, bit their nails, jumped up and down until the final seconds ticked off the clock and victory was once again theirs!!
As special as the moment in Dresden was, this one only solidified what an amazing group of kids (the parents are alright too) that make up the Pelham Flames. The way this team has bonded together and the success they have has created amazing memories that will last a lifetime.
Congratulations Flames!!! We couldn't be more proud!!!
Tom Vanderlip