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NobleKing peewee A Knights on top of hockey world

February 3, 2016   ·   0 Comments

By  Dennis Evangelista
The peewee A NobleKing Knights are on top of the hockey world.  The team went undefeated in their quest to become the youngest NobleKing team to win a Silver Stick International Final Championship, and the only team to ever capture both the Silver Stick and a Lake Placid Challenge Cup in the same season.
After capturing the Lake Placid title in October, the Knights Silver Stick journey began in December, as the team dominated their competition in the Bob Merkley Regional Silver Stick qualifying tournament in Midland. The team continued their momentum from there by finishing the regular season in first place of the competitive York Simcoe Region OMHA loop.
This past Thursday, the group of players, coaches, parents and siblings started their trek over the border to Port Huron, Michigan with one united goal – to win this tournament.
In their first challenge of the tournament, the group faced the Gulf Coast Flames from Florida. The Flames had yet to lose a game all season but this did not intimidate the Knights, as they easily disposed of the Flames 6-0.
In their second round robin game on Friday, the Knights faced off against the Lincoln Jr. Stars from Nebraska. The game started off close, but the Knights persevered to a 2-0 lead at the end of the first.  The team shut the Jr. Stars from that point on to a final score of 5-0.
As other teams played in the hallways late Friday evening, the boys demonstrated their determination and commitment to their goal by getting a good night’s sleep to prepare for their biggest challenge yet, an early morning meeting with the Uxbridge Stars.
The Stars had defeated the Knights in three straight games in last season’s OMHA semi-finals.  The boys woke up early Saturday morning with revenge on their minds. In an exciting and hard fought game, the Knights battled back from an early 1-0 deficit to tie the game 1-1. The boys thought they may have had their first win against their nemesis, but a late second goal was waved off by the referee.  The tie, however, gave the Knights a first-place finish in their round robin group.
That evening, the Knights quarter-final game match up was against their upcoming first round OMHA playoff opponents, the Orillia Terriers. The NobleKing players were not running on all cylinders to start the game as the teams went into the change room for the third period flood with a 1-1 tie.
However, the young Knights put the pedal to the metal in the third period as both teams laid it on the line in a physical finish to the game.  After a 2-2 and a 3-3 score, the Knights dug in deep in the last half of the period and escaped with a 6-3 win, giving them a berth in an early Sunday morning semi-final game against their regular season opponents, the Markham Waxers.
The Knights woke up on Sunday with an aura of calm and confidence. With a season full of practice, game experience, and quality coaching, the team was prepared for the challenge of championship Sunday.  They started off the game with a masterful performance. The offence chipped in two early goals and the defence shut down the Waxers for the first 30 minutes. The Knights knew that their opponent would come after them with all they had in the third period. The Waxers got half way to their objective with an early goal, but that was all they could muster, and the Knights held on to a 2-1 victory.
After the game, the team soon found out that the championship game would be a rematch against the reigning Silver Stick International Champions, the Uxbridge Stars.
To prepare for the game, Head Coach Rob De Rose motivated the team by explaining to them that opportunities come and go in life, however, great opportunities that lay ahead of them in their grasps, only come along at seldom times, therefore you need to take advantage of them when they present themselves. The boys clutched on to their coach’s inspiring message, locked their jaws on his words, and stepped on the ice to seize such an opportunity in this, their game of a lifetime.
The boys were relentless, shift after shift, giving all they had. They battled the Stars to a 0-0 tie after the first.  The Knights were given a power play opportunity in the middle of the second period, and they took full advantage of the situation. Sam Degli Angeli winged the puck around the boards from behind the net. The puck reached the stick of Anthony Macedo, which he quickly fired towards the net. The puck bounced off of sticks, gloves and shin pads, and with hectic action and good fortune, it landed to the side of the net. Awaiting it’s arrival, Ryan Dimitroff slid the puck into the gaping cage, to give the Knights a much needed lead.
From that point on, both teams traded punches in this heavyweight match, however, both opposing goalies stood tall, especially Knights goalie Steven Selvaggi. In the team’s last wall of defence, he stood tall, and made many spectacular stops. As the parents counted down and took their final gasps, the Knights persevered, and captured the title in a 1-0 shutout win.
After the game, the team was presented with three individual awards.  Steven Selvaggi was given the well-deserved honour of Tournament M.V.P. and was also named to the Silver Stick All Star team, while defenceman Aurelio DeRose was recognized by being named to the Silver Stick All Star team.  Congratulations to both boys on your successes and your contribution to the team.
Congratulations to the staff of the peewee A NobleKing Knights for their hard work and dedication to the team,  Head Coach Rob DeRose, Coaches Dan Dimitroff, Tory Termini, Joe Petrungaro, Domenic Albanese, and Team Manager, Lucia Macedo.  Congratulations to all of the players – Vincent Albanese, Alex Ayzenberg, Vincenzo Marra, Aurelio De Rose, Christopher Petrungaro, Ryan Dimitroff, Matthew Maniatis, Liam McPhillips, Anthony Macedo, Derek Evangelista, Steven Selvaggi, Michael Termini, Cameron Robinson, Owen Clark and Sam Degli Angeli.
Not only did they outclass all teams on the ice but  their determination, teamwork and sportsmanship were also unparalleled. This is truly a performance that all of King Township is proud of.

         

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