Apr 07, 2022 | JMcGregor | 609 views
U18 A OWHA Champions
The U18A Stratford Aces were crowned champions in what used to be known as the "Tournament of Champions". Winning the playoff format which was different this season due to Covid was a formidable feat.
The first step was finishing first in the division. A tough grouping that included London, Belmont and Stratford fighting for top spot throughout the season, came down to the final weekend of the regular season. The Aces were able to capture the division title finishing the regular season with a 13-2-3 record.
That division crown put the Aces in the playoffs with the 7 other best teams from around the Province. The playoffs were single elimination. In the first round the Aces faced the Flambourough Falcons. A hard fought game in which the Falcons outshot the Aces, saw the Aces prevail with a 2-0 win.
The semi final game was against Waterloo. Waterloo had beaten Stratford in pre-season play on two occasions. However the Aces were a different team from September and continued their strong play securing a 2-1 victory.
The win propelled the Aces to the finals vs North York Storm who had defeated Sudbury to earn their spot in the championship game.
The Championship was played on April 2 in Etobicoke. The Aces came out strong and heavily outshot the Storm. Despite that it appeared that Stratford may be the victims of bad luck as the Storm used a fluke deflection to go up 1-0 early.
After the Aces tied the game it remained deadlocked thru two periods despite the Aces barrage of shots. Early in the third the Storm scored again to go up 2-1. However the never say quit attitude of the Aces was in full force. After tying the game with 9 minutes remaining the Aces were able to grab their first lead with just under 5 minutes to go. A lead the Aces would hold onto to bring a Championship banner to the Festival City.