Your Durham Crusaders Blue found themselves rolling the dice this past weekend at the Lefroy Lucky Puck Tournament. While up against teams ultimately unknown to them from different parts of the province, the boys in blue dug in for what was going to be a great weekend of hockey both on and off the ice.
Game 1
On Friday, DC arrived at the Innisfil Rec Complex to take on the local Lefroy Ice Breakers. With little intel, they had to figure out what they were up against on the fly. As the first period open, DC got right to work adding 1 to the scoreboard less than 3 minutes in. From here there was a lot of back and forth and tight play until the IceBreakers evened up the scoring late in the second. During the break following period 2, emphasis was on pressure, and without hesitation 91-44-4 stormed out of the gates with the puck drop and caused Lefroy to cough up the puck behind their net, allowing DC Blue to jam one home. Game 1 ended 2-1 in favour of the good guys.
Game 2
After a long stretch of time, and a team lunch, the players were set to face off against the Kincardine Kinucks - this time at the hotel arena, making for a nice and easy saunter from one building to the next for game time. Although the Kinucks are a top 3 team in their own league, the Crusaders were all warmed up from the morning, and ready to attack. With two goals in the first period, Kincardine would add the lone goal in the second. With what seemed like a close match, quickly turned into a lopsided event as the Crusaders netted 4 goals in 6 minutes in the third period. These goals were critical in the standing for a goals for percentage if they were going to make it to Sunday, with 4 other teams still sitting undefeated. Final score: 6-1.
Game 3
Although the game wasn’t until 5:30pm the next day, the Crusaders made good use of the resort with some pool time, team building and an ever-intense mini golf showdown at the hotel’s indoor course. The Crusader Open Championship was tense, but not as much as the game they were about to play. Game 3 vs Ennismore saw the two best teams of the tournament faceoff for first place. The Eagles might have been flying but the Crusaders held formation with a disciplined structure keeping the play tight all game. Goals would only be exchanged in the first period here resulting in a 1-1 tie. This had implications on the standings with both teams undefeated but now only with 2 wins which provided opportunity for the Beverly Bandits to take first place after the round robin matchups. What did this mean? A rematch between the 2 and 3 seeded times in the morning. This time, a tie was not an option.
Game 4 - Semi Final
Off to Lefroy’s home arena the Morgan Russell Community Centre for a 10:10am puck drop versus Ennismore. The Crusaders came out strong, capitalizing on some flat feet and scoring 12 seconds into the first period. Ennismore would answer with one of their own in the second, followed by another Crusader go ahead goal. While doing their best to get out of the 2nd period on top, the Crusaders could hold off a late Ennismore surge as they scored with 28 seconds left. This set up a nail biting finish in the third. For most of the period both teams played tight, with few chances. With 4:13 left in the period, the Eagles swooped in to take the lead. A late Crusader period with 2:11 on the clock almost sealed the fate of the boys in blue. While having a tough time getting the puck out of their own end short handed, the goalie couldn’t come out. With just over a minute to play, the Crusaders finally changed possession and took the puck deep in the Ennismore zone now with an extra attacker. It wasn’t long before the pressure became too much with Ennismore taking a penalty with 32 seconds left on the clock. Now up a man advantage with what originally started as down a man, the Crusaders had a chance. But the defensive efforts and goaltending were enough for Ennismore to hold off this final surge and take the win. 3-2.
Ennismore would advance to the finals later that day and ultimately win the tournament. This has been the Crusader’s third tournament, third semi-final elimination and third time being eliminated by the eventual champions. We’re knocking on the doorstep and on the verge of something great. Keep working hard DC!