Special to Barrie 360
The U11 BB Charon Clute Insurance Barrie Jr. Colts returned home as champions after defeating the Fort Erie Meteors in the finals of the King Playoff Challenge Tournament on Sunday afternoon.
The boys finished the round-robin 3-1-0, guaranteeing them a spot in Sunday’s championship game. The Colts were looking for redemption against a Fort Erie team that handed them their only loss of the round-robin.
Weylan Tkaczuk opened the scoring for Barrie just over a minute into the first period, but the Meteors responded quickly.
Fort Erie took the lead briefly in the second, before Grayson Moore unloaded a rocket from the blue line to tie the game at 2. Logan Culp potted one following a scramble in front of the Meteor's net to make it 3-2 for Barrie. Fort Erie would pull even again before the end of the second frame, and it remained that way until late in the third, when Levi Rampton gave the Colts a 4-3edge. Colts netminder Kieran Kerfoot kept his team in the lead with some incredible saves late in regulation time, but Fort Erie took advantage of a lucky bounce to tie things at 4, forcing overtime.
The overtime period was a back-and-forth affair - proving stressful for the parents in the crowd.
Eventually, a shootout was needed to decide who would go home champions.
Colts captain Ethan Elder was the first to shoot for Barrie. He went to his backhand, putting a beauty past the Meteors goaltender. Fort Erie’s shooter sneaked one past Kerfoot, but Colts forward Logan Culp made no mistake on his shootout attempt, putting all the pressure on the Meteors. Once again, Kieran Kerfoot stood tall between the pipes for Barrie, stopping Fort Erie’s second shooter and giving his teammate Mitchell Bednarczyk a chance to win it. Bednarczyk rose to the occasion, popping one past the Meteor's netminder to give Barrie a 5-4 victory.
The U11 BB Charon Clute Insurance Barrie Colts are coached by Joey Rampton, Josh Dahmer and Jim Stewart. Dan Renwick is the team’s trainer.
images and story details via Hinda Koza-Culp
