Two young hockey players arrived home from the 2012 Calgary Riggers AAA Pee Wee Spring Challenge as champions. Keaton Mastrodonato and Ethan Schmunk hoisted the coveted cup with pride following recent play at the Olympic training facility in Calgary, Alberta.
Mastrodonato and Schmunk play with the Island Elite AAA team which is based out of Victoria. Both boys are in their second year with the squad and had committed and travelled every weekend for the past 10 weeks for exhibition, tournaments and practices.
Their dedication paid off in their final tournament of spring hockey. Elite played the Grizzlies from Banff, in its opening game winning 7-6. Mastrodonato scored the game winner on a breakaway and notched another, while Schmunk netted a pair for the win.
The team faced Edmonton Express next and after a cushy lead, gave it up in the third to fall short 11-9. The team regrouped and crushed Foothills South Phantoms 13-3 to complete round robin play.
In quarter-final action, Elite faced Calgary Extreme in a must win game as the losing team would be eliminated from action. Elite won 4-3 in a battle sending them to the semifinals with only a two-hour break in between. In semifinal action the Elite faced the Express again as the Express came in the back door. Having lost to the same team the previous day, the Elite had some unfinished business and came out ready to play. The team played with grit and conquered the Express on the boards, filled the net and won 8-5 sending Edmonton packing and the Elite to the finals.
In the final match the Elite faced off against Southern Alberta Selects. Elite stunned its opponents with a quick goal 30 seconds in by Schmunk from Mastrodonato. The team kept attacking and in minutes the undefeated Selects were down 5-0 after one period. Elite did not back down and although the Selects found the net twice, Elite’s desire to win was too much and it won scoring two late goals in the third. The final score was 7-2.
Schmunk and Mastrodonato, both assistant captains, contributed to the team’s victory over the course of the weekend. Coach Brian Passmore was happy with their tenacity, endurance and play during the tournament.
Schmunk said the most memorable part of the trip was, “Playing Mantracker with my team, losing my shoes in the mud and, of course, winning the gold medal game topped my weekend.”
Mastrodonato added, “Hoisting a real cup and knocking out the Express was memorable because we had some unfinished business from the earlier upset.”
Both boys will take a few weeks off and enjoy their summer before preparing for pee wee rep tryouts at home in September.
