The Pelham Powell Drywall Bantam AE Panthers captured the tournament championship this past weekend in Huntsville at the Winston Watson Memorial AE Tournament.
The Panthers opened tournament play by squeaking out a 3-2 victory Friday afternoon against Tavistock. Saturday morning brought a tough opponent and Pelham fell to Timmins 2-1 in a very close game. However, in their afternoon contest, the Panthers were feeling their groove again, and rebounded with a solid 6-1 victory over Porcupine.
Pelham advanced to the semi-finals Sunday morning where again Timmins was the opponent. Pelham was able to control play most of the game, and battled to a close 2-1 win in the rematch. This victory set up a highly anticipated game in the finals against the undefeated host Huntsville Otters less than 90 minutes later.
During the title game, Pelham opened the scoring early in the game and set a very physical tone throughout the first period. The Panthers continued to use their effort, size and speed, and widened their lead to two goals after two periods. Huntsville's offence was neutralized completely in the third period, and the Panthers cruised to a dominating 4-1 victory over the host team. The Panther coaching staff called it the best team game of the season!
This was the first tournament championship of the season for the Bantam AE Panthers.