A Bracebridge minor midget tournament team travelled to Toronto on the weekend to participate in a tournament, winning a spot in the semifinals only to lose in overtime to the Humber Valley Huskies.

The team was composed of players from the Bracebridge Bears NorStar minor midget team and four players from the Bracebridge Bears major midget team who were eligible to play because of their age. The team included Alex Rigby, Graham Yeo, Wil Irons, Myles Reville, Cole Nichols, Eric Muntz, Kevin McKenzie, Michael McKinnon, Dustin Taylor, Craig Cleator, Eric Murphy, Leavon Peleikis, Gregg Bridgeo and Kevin Hansen, with goalies Rylan Boyd and Kyle French.

The team’s first game was a tightly fought match with Bracebridge scoring only one goal off the crossbar when Yeo lifted the puck over the goalie. Unfortunately, the Toronto Colts were able to score in the last minute to win the game 2-1.

The team then won the next three games with a well-established pattern. The first period was a warm-up with few goals and then in the second and third periods the Bears dominated, scoring without much opposition. The Bears won 8-2 over the Meadowvale Mohawks, 7-2 over the Duffield Devils and 7-1 over the Downsview Beavers.

Goal scorers included Rigby, Nichols, Yeo, Muntz, Peleikis, McKenzie and Taylor. There was solid defensive play in front of the net by Hansen, Cleator, Peleikis Murphy and Bridgeo.

The Bears advanced to the semifinals against the Humber Valley Huskies on Sunday morning. Kyle French was in net. The opening period remained scoreless as two evenly matched teams pushed against each other to find a weakness. The Bears were dominant in shots on net but were unable to find their way past the goalie.

Early in the second period, Humber Valley scrambled in front of the Bears’ net and in the confusion, popped in the first goal of the game. Minutes later Bracebridge responded when captain Rigby launched a rocket into the net to tie the game.

Bracebridge got a little sloppy and found themselves down two players and the Huskies took full advantage of the five-on-three situation to score their second goal.

The third period started with the Bears down a goal. Peleikis solved the problem when he slapped in a puck from the blue-line to tie the game, forcing overtime. The Bears started the overtime period in penalty-kill mode but within a minute were playing four-on-four hockey. The Huskies used the extra ice to slide past the Bears to the net and the puck flew over French’s shoulder to win.