Port Huron International Silver Stick (Jan. 14, Port Huron)
Written by Paul Costanzo, Times Herald
As the final seconds ticked off the McMorran Arena clock Sunday during the PeeWee AAA final of the Port Huron International Silver Stick Tournament, Markham Waxers goalie Damon Beaver couldn’t wait until the buzzer to toss his stick away.
He had his eye on another one.
“I was so happy,” Beaver said. “I just wanted that Silver Stick.”
Beaver and his teammates got their chance to skate around the ice with the Silver Stick after defeating the London Jr. Knights 5-0. It was the first of two finals at McMorran as the first weekend of the tournament wrapped up.
The PeeWee final was tight until the third period. Markham took a 1-0 lead into the final 15 minutes, and London started the period on a power play. But the Waxers killed off the power play and scored four goals in the final frame — three on the power play.
“It was a 1-0 lead for us going into the third period, so the biggest thing we didn’t want to do was sit on our lead,” Markham coach Kent Brimmer said. “We were able to kill that penalty off, and we kept getting over the red line and dump it in, playing very conservative, but kept the attack going. A big credit goes to our goaltender, he really stood up.”
Austin Brimmer had two goals and one assist for Markham in the win, while Harrison Caines, Connor McMichael and Cole Burtch each had one goal. Charlie Da Fonseca had a pair of assists for the Waxers, while McMichael, Burtch, Caines, Kevin Kozik, Ben Reeves and Cole Spencer each had one.
For Markham, it was a great end to a tournament that didn’t have the best beginning, at least not on the scoreboard, as it lost its opening game against the Mississauga Senators. The Waxers won six straight to close the tournament, however.
“We out-shot them 47-17 — we ran across a really hot goaltender, so hat’s off to that goaltender,” Brimmer said. “But at the very end, we’ve never had 47 shots on a goaltender before, and that happens in hockey.
“I came into the dressing room (after the first game) and said, ‘Listen guys, you didn’t lose the game — you lost the game on the scoreboard, but you put up 47 shots, and in my mind you won the game. Keep that going for the next game …’ We won the next three to advance into the quarterfinals, and we took it from there one game at a time.”
Markham advanced to the final with a 3-2 win against the Chicago Mission. London defeated Little Caesars 3-1 in the other semifinal. Little Caesars, which is coached by Port Huron’s Bill Warren and features Fort Gratiot’s Shayne Tomlinson and Marysville’s Patrick Guzzo, was 5-1 in the tournament.