Bandits roll at Nickel Centre Tourney

The West Ferris Hilltop Variety Bandits minor peewee AA hockey team competed in the Nickel Centre Minor Hockey Tournament over the past weekend. The Bandits started round robin play on Friday facing the Valley East Rebels. The game was close with the Bandits ending up on top by a 1-0 score. The lone Bandit goal came from Grant Hatherley. Mathew Chatelaine picked up the shutout.

The Bandits were back in action on Saturday with two games, the first against Rayside-Balfour. Once again neither team was giving much ground and a 1-1 tie resulted. Matthew Peterson-Galema notched the only Bandit marker.

The second game of the day featured a match against the Sudbury Jr. Wolves. In this game the Bandits found their scoring touch, moving the puck around with good speed. The game ended with a decisive 9-2 win.

Goal scorers for the Bandits were Justin Rancourt(3), Tyler Peters(3) and Matthew Peterson-Galema, Jordan Sullivan and Lucas Brown with one each.

The Bandits ended up in first place after round robin play and had a bye to the finals. In this game they again met Valley East. The Bandits started slowly and gave up a goal in the first minute of play putting themselves in an early hole. However, the Bandits took the momentum back with excellent passing and speed, outworking their opponents and clinching the tournament championship with a 4-1 win.
Goals came from Brown(2), Peters and Hatherley. This is the second year in a row that this team has won the Nickel Centre Tournament.

Team members for the Bandits are Marc Audet, Mathew Chatelaine, Cohen Allison, Lucas Brown, Colin Jerome, Grant Hatherley, Adam Fulton, Jackson Newman, Paul Wilkinson, Aaron Dart, Tyler Peters, Justin Rancourt, Fraser Duhaime, Jordan Sullivan, Cody Sutcliffe and Matthew Peterson-Galema. Coaching Staff are Ken Sutcliffe, Rob Jerome, Dave Wikinson, Todd Robillard and Chris Fulton.

Submitted to BayToday.ca