U11LL#2 Wolfpack put up good fight in first tournament of the season

By Casandra Turnbull

The U11LL#2 hockey team had a good showing at its debut tournament of the 2024/2025 season

The Wolfpack travelled to Port Dover for the Thomas Butler Memorial from November 15-17th The action started on Friday afternoon with a game against regular season league rivals, the Simcoe Warriors It was a competitive game from both benches, with Simcoe taking the 3-1 win. Rari Martin scored Paris’ lone goal. In game two on Saturday, Paris came face to face with the Cayuga Stars. It was a slow start for Paris as they were down 2-0 after the first period of play Down but not out, the offense rallied to even the score in the second. Liam Bryson put Paris on the board, followed by the tying goal from Jack Ferren. Martin grabbed what would have been the game winner in the third, however, Cayuga struck late in the game to end it in a three all tie.

The final game of the tournament turned out to be the most exciting. Up against Dresden, Paris came out of the gates with three goals in the first period, thanks to Martin, Ferren and Bryson. Martin added the fourth goal to the scoreboard in the second period, while Paris’ goal tender, Ben Turnbull, held the opponents off in two shutout periods. Dresden got on the board late in the third period, taking away Paris’ opportunity to record its first tournament shutout.

Luca Battistone, Landon Dedman and Tanner Aitchison moved the puck around well to create scoring opportunities The defensive team of Liam Arsenault, Corbin Watts, Tayden Hamilton, Lincoln Pynenburg and Koen Gall played a good game, clearing the puck out of the zone and setting up the offense to put pressure on the Dresden goalie. It was an entire team effort that almost led the young Wolfpack team to the semi-finals, missing out on the opportunity by only 1 ½ points.

The team found redemption the following week during a regular season game against Simcoe on November 20th . Paris travelled to Simcoe with a thirst to return the favour and deliver the Warriors with a loss. It was a real back and forth battle, which remained scoreless until the third period when Bryson, on a breakaway, finally put one past the Simcoe goaltender to give Paris the 1-0 lead Following that goal, every Wolfpack player dug deep and rallied to protect their goalie - and their lead - with only minutes remaining in the game.

Turnbull turned away several Simcoe attacks to record a total of 15 saves and secure the 1-0 shutout. The team would like to thank its sponsors, who graciously donated this season to keep tournament fees and team expenses to a minimum – The Paris Independent, Mountview Landscaping, JTC Renovations, Wild Wings Paris, Bryson CPA Professional Corporation and Drumbo Tito’s Pizza

The Paris Wolfpack U11LL#2 team, proudly sponsored by the Paris Independent, pictured during Thomas Butler Memorial Tournament in Paris. Team members include (in no particular order), Liam Arsenault, Lincoln Pynenburg, Tayden Hamilton, Corbin Watts, Ben Turnbull, Liam Bryson, Landon Dedman, Luca Battistone, Tanner Aitchison, Rari Martin and Jack Ferren. Special mention to coaches Daryl Aitchison, Matt Ferren and Dana Pynenburg.