Wolverine goaltender Gavin McAuliffe with defenders Emil Schkrohowski and Luke Sawyer.
The Wenatchee Junior Wild claimed their second straight U-14 Bantam Great Outdoors Classic title this past weekend at the Winthrop Rink, defeating the Tri-Cities Junior Americans 3-0 in the title game Sunday afternoon.
The Semi-ah-moo Ravens from Surrey, British Columbia, took home the third-place trophy.
It appeared on Saturday morning that Mother Nature was going to win the weekend, but rink staff and parent volunteers managed to clear the snow off the ice as needed to get through the morning session. The snow stopped and skies cleared for the late afternoon and evening sessions.
The host Winthrop Wolverines placed10th in the 12-team tournament, dropping a thrilling shootout tie breaker to Seattle Junior Bulldogs. Down 5-3 with time running out in the Sunday morning match, the Wolverines put up a furious empty net rally in the final minute to tie the game.
Jackson Van Bueren and Leatham Peterson scored back-to-back goals five seconds apart to force the shootout. The Seattle junior team tallied two overtime goals to the Wolverines’ single to win 9th place. The Bulldogs had beaten the Wolverines 5-1 in an earlier game Saturday afternoon.
Winthrop head coach James DeSalvo was pleased with the effort of his charges over the weekend tournament.
“I couldn’t have been prouder of every single player who displayed heart, compassion, and 100% effort,” said DeSalvo. “The Winthrop Wolverines are a gritty bunch known for our good sportsmanship and constant effort. Inspired goaltending by Gavin McAuliffe, and an award for helping players from the opposite team up after the whistle,” DeSalvo cited as an example of the team’s overall effort and sportsmanship.
