SARNIA – The Listowel Cyclones and Aylmer Flames continue to heat up an already intense rivalry in Midget Rep hockey.
The Cyclones defeated the Flames in a tightly contested, physical playoff series last spring for the all-Ontario championship.
The two sides were reunited on Sunday with the stakes once again high: they were battling in the finals of the International Silver Stick tournament hosted in Sarnia.
“The game ended up being another battle for the ages as each team seemed to gain momentum at different moments during the game,” Listowel coach Mike Weber recapped on the team’s website.
With the score tied at the end of regulation, the team’s headed to a sudden-death three-on-three overtime setup.
Aylmer scored first to steal the title, and exact some revenge.
“A few mental lapses cost us the game, and we deserved to win,” said forward Justin Jacklin, who was named to the tournament all-star team. “That makes it twice as hard to watch another team win.”
Listowel held a 2-1 lead with under six minutes to play, but the Flames struck back to draw even and eventually force extra time.
The Cyclones plan to use this setback in a positive form mentally as the squads return to league play.
“Nothing but positives can be taken from the tournament over the weekend as each player earned valuable experience to help on their quest to repeat as OMHA champs,” Weber said.
Listowel racked up a 3-0 record previous to the finals, downing the Renfrew Timberwolves 3-2 on Friday, shutting out the Huntsville Charges 6-0 early Saturday morning, and slamming the Wasaga Beach Stars 5-1 later that day.
The opener against Renfrew was a good test for the group.
“It was one of the best played games for both teams,” Weber said. “Each team exchanged hard hits and numerous scoring drives.”
The Midgets, who finished second in their division with 27 regular-season points, are in the midst of a bye as they await the winner of the Goderich-Walkerton WOAA playdown series.
Goderich won the opener 4-2.