The 25th Pelham International Silver Stick Finals arrived….. And so did the U13 Blue Crusaders. A four-day clash between the top teams from various regional finals locations both domestic and south of the border would prove to be a real test for the Durham Crusaders team, hungry to take this opportunity and show the other teams that they deserve to be there.
On Thursday January 8, 2026, the team arrived in St Catharine’s at the Seymour Hannah to kick of their tournament against the Drayton Defenders - Champions from the Parkhill Regional Silver Stick tournament. Both teams played tight in the first period, but in the final minutes, the Crusaders recovered from a botched breakout to keep pushing the puck forward, with Hamer streaking down the right wing, protecting the puck all the way, and jamming it home on the short side. Things happened so fast the referee needed to be right on the goal line to witness the puck squeak by the goalies pads. In the second period however, Drayton would answer back with two of their own now putting the Crusaders on their heels heading into the third period. Special teams came alive as Drayton went to the box allowing the Crusaders to net not one but two powerplay goals and go ahead with 4 minutes remaining. Despite the desperate Drayton efforts, the Crusaders would continue to drop the hammer and add an insurance goal with 2:19 left in the period, sealing a first-game win!
High on a first-game win, the Crusaders headed off to the tournament opening ceremonies in Pelham. With a flurry of pin-trading, music, and socializing, with an introduction of all teams in the tournament, the competition was finally underway.
Day two brought two more challenges for the Crusaders. Game 2 versus the Wingham Ironmen - Champions out of the Collingwood Regional Silver Stick Tournament, would prove to be another strong test. From the first puck drop, the Crusaders struggled to maintain possession, structure, and opportunity. Was it the 8:00 am start? Rainy morning blues? Too much confidence from the day before? Whatever it was, Wingham had no problem taking control of this game, netting 3 in the first, 2 in the second, but being held to zero goals in the third - a little too late for the Crusaders to mount a comeback. In a tournament where ties are decided by goal differential, these five against were going to hurt if it came down to it.
Game 3 was a chance to bounce back. Matching up against an unknown Aviator Hockey Club team - Champions out of Columbia and the American Eastern Regional Silver Stick Tournament, the Crusaders would make sure to start on time. It didn’t take long to get things going. Just 2 minutes and 4 seconds into the first period, the Crusaders were on the board. With some great puck movement and a chance to climb back up in goal differential, they would add two more for the period. During the second it was much of the same with three more goals on the board followed by a single in the third. Was it enough to put them ahead if need be? 7-0 was pretty convincing, but the next opponent, Honeybaked, beat this team 11-0 earlier in the tournament.
Game 4 on Saturday morning was the deciding moment. With a very tight pool and only two moving on, spots two, three, four, and five were still uncertain. For the Crusaders to get in, they needed a Drayton win against Belmont in the game before us, and the Crusaders needed an outright win….. HERE WE GO! With determination the Crusaders surged forward in the first period scoring just 42 seconds into the game. A minute later, they scored again…. Things were looking up!
Heading into the second period up 2-0, the Crusaders repelled attack after attack until finally a Honeybaked break put them on the board. Shortly after, the Crusaders would find themselves in hot water heading to the box. Although in a turn of events, the Honeybaked team would draw the puck out of the zone and back in, and despite the ref's arm being up for an offside, no offside was called. Honeybaked would re-enter the zone and would capitalize on this opportunity to even things up. It was a 2-2 tie heading into the third period.
Much like the second, Honeybaked got the jump on the draw again and streaked through the Crusader lineup like a hot knife through butter. 3-2 Honeybaked - their first lead of the game. But it would take a lot more to shut this Durham team out, as they came back and pressed hard to even the score once again. It was back and forth, back and forth, with another Honeybaked goal and only 4 minutes now into the period. 4-3 Honeybaked. As the period went on, the Crusaders had to start getting more pucks to the net. With a laser snipe from Boesch at the top of the circle, the puck zipped by the tendy bounced off the twine that someone strung too tight and back out. Good thing this ref's eyes were working this time, otherwise he would have missed this as well. But a tie wasn’t going to do it - it had to be a win.
The Crusaders pushed and pushed, having chance after chance, but the Honeybaked D were putting their bodies on the line and protecting their goalie from any shots. In the dying minutes of the game, with the goalie pulled, the Crusaders would try for one more surge. Honeybaked was able to fend off the attack and hold on to the tie, securing their spot in the semi-final based on goal differential. Honeybaked would go 1-0-3 in the tournament, while the Crusaders went 2-1-1.
What an awesome show of effort, skill and determination from this squad. They met their match on several occasions, and although their tournament success was cut short, there was a silver lining in the next level that these players reached. Let’s hope they can hold on to this drive as they return to the regular season and get ready for the playoffs.
Thank you once again to our sponsors for supporting this opportunity for our players. It was an incredible experience for them.