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THE NEW TANNERTHURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 2009 13 Bantam AE Tanners win Haliburton Silver Stick Meet Port Hope in Tourney Final his fourth time of the game thanks to Eric Butsons relay. Although the Blades potted two more markers, the Tan- ners would stand steadfast int heir drive to win by two goals. Final Score: Acton 6 Lincoln 4 At 5pm, Acton drew on their strengths to face their third opponent of the day, the Napanee Stars. A fast-paced physical game ensued from the start with the Stars attempting to throw the Tanners off their game. The Tanners however remained focused and were to be the first to conquer the score- board midway through the first with Jonathon Paquin Felske feeding a pass to Connor Hitchcock who slid the rubber between the goal- tenders splayed pads. Early in the second Carter Ebbinge provided Eric But- son with the puck allowing him to precisely place the puck just under the crossbar. Carter Ebbinge ended Actons scoring drive with a stick side wrist shot easily beating the Blades cage-master thanks to stick-to-stick work of Will Richards and Evan Oulton. In the dying minutes of the game with extra Stars sniper ont eh ice in lieu of a goal- tender Napnee scored their only goal. Final score: Acton 3- Napanee 1 With a first place fin- ish in the Orr Division, the Bantam AE Tanners secured their seed in the semi-finals on December 14 at 11am squaring off against the port Perry Pred- ators who finished second in the Gretzky Division. Once again a fast paced, hard hitting game ensued, but it would be Acton who would throw Port Perry off their game as the physical Tan- ners pressured the Predators into coughing up the rubber deep in their zone. This play allowed Carter Ebbinge and Evan Oulton to feed Eric Butson who fired off a blast of rubber that ruffled the Predators netting. A scoreless second per- iod woiuld come and go with both teams testing each others limitations to the nth degree. Early in the third Port Perry provided their fans with a reason to cheer with a well placed shot violating Actons blue and giving the Predators an even-up mark- er. The Tanners pressed on displaying the grit and de- termination that had carried them this far. With less then 40 seconds elapsing from the predator breach, Eric Butson managed to intercept a Preda- tor pass to feed TJ Baker. He gave the Tanner the go ahead notch by placing the rubber precisely under the crossbar. An all-out offensive attack launched by the Predators in ths do or die game was re- pulsed by a strong Tanner defensive wall. Semi Final Champion- ship Final Score: Acton 2- Port Perry 1 The 2pm championship game saw the Bantam AE Tanners square off against the first place Gretzky Div- ision winners, the Port Hope Phantoms. With the clock using up only 19 seconds, a proficient Phantom winger carved his way down the ice and managed to breach Actons cage much to the chagrin of Tanner support- ers. A strong offensive attack by the Tanners was stone- walled by the Port Hope net-minder for the rest of the first period. The second and third per- iod saw a newly refocused Tanner team put the steel to the ice as TJ Baker stick fed Eric Butson allowing him to find the crack in the Pan- tom wall, light the lamp and gave the Tanners the even- up marker to finish off the second period. Early in the third period Connor Hitchcock con- tinued to chip away at the wall, ruffling the mesh on a pass from Michael Fatrdla. TJ Baker scored Actons in- surance goal unassisted.. Port Hope pressed on and elevated the games intensity with an array of attacks. With over three minutes still ticking on the clock an extra Phantom sniper was placed on the ice in lieu of a net-minder giving Port Hope the offen- sive edge. Phantom pressure kept play locked in Tanner terri- tory as seconds disappeared from the scoreboard but Acton remained unwaver- ing. Numerous icing calls only used up a fraction of the clock. Then Con- nor Hitchcock managed to intercept a pass and feed TJ Baker who then carved his way into open ice and fire off one final marker into the unguarded net to ultimately seal the Phan- toms fate. Championship game final score: Acton 4 Port Hope 1 With knowledge and skills acquired fromt eh coaching/managerial staff of Dave Butsom. Bill Curry, Mike Griffiths, Gord and Arlene Fritz, a concerted team effort was put forth by each and every member of the team culminating in the tournament victory. There was an exceptional per- formance by the offensive team of Jeff Curry, Eric Butson, Ryan Millington, Mitchell Griffiths, Connor Hitchcock, TJ Baker, Eric Vlasic, Jonathon Paquin- Felske, Evan Oulton and Carter Ebbinge. The tenacious defensive team of Will Richards, Mi- chael Fatrdla, Matt Fritz, Joshua Martin, Ryan Payne and James Dawkins main- tained a wall of rsistance almost impenetrable. Goal tending expertise by cage wizards, Justin Payne and Mason Over- land secured Actons blue, and ensured the mesh re- mained wrinkle free. Congratulations Tanners! Actons Bantam AE Tan- ners participated in the 6th annual Highland Storm International Silver Stick Tournament in Haliburton on Dec. 13-14, skating away with the Silver Stick Cham- pionship Tanners laced up and hit the ice for their first game of the series against the Lindsay Muskies at 9 am Saturday.. Both teams came ready to play hockey in an evenly matched game which saw no score through the first two periods. However, the Mus- kies were the first to break the goose egg. Not to be outplayed, the Tanners continued to pressure Lindsay. They subsequently coughed up a loose puck, which in turn was picked up by Conner Hitchcock, Hitchock placed the puck on Jonathon Paquin- Felskes stick who wasted no time neatly sliding the rubber under the Muskies goaltend- er ofr the even-up marker. The score stayed tied at 1-1 until the final buzzer. Meet Lincoln Tanner suited up again at noon against the Lincoln Blades. The Blades hit the score- board first, getting two quick markers midway through the first period. The Tanner again displayed their fortitude late in the first with Matt Fritz supplying TJ Baker the ne- cessary artillery to beat the glove hand of the Blades goaltender. This goal would kick-start the Tanners scoring drive through the next two per- iods, as Connor Hitchcock passed the puck to Michael Fatrdla who fired off a blast of rubber to even up the tally. TJ Baker followed suit, ruf- fling the Blades mesh with a snapshot on the tape-t-tape passes from Evan Oulton and Eric Butson. The Tanners continued to pressure the Blades net-mind- ing with TJ Baker securing the game hat-trick with a well executed wrap-around, sliding the rubber deftly in- side the upright thanks to the stick work of Evan Oulton. Connor Hitchcock was next inline sinking the puck past the Blades goalies glove hand on a pass from Jonatho Paquin-Felske. TJ Baker would ultimately finish the Tanners scoring blitz, lighting the lamp for SILVER STICK CHAMPIONS: Actons Bantam AE Tanners captured the cham- pionship at the Highland Storm International Silver Stick (Regional Group 3-5) in Haliburton on Dec. 13-14, 2008. Team members include: Front, Justin Payne, Mason Overland. 2nd row, Jeff Curry, Will Richards, Matt Fritz, Carter Ebb- inge, Eric Butson, Ryan Millington, Evan Oulton. 3rd row, Dave Butson (coach), Michael Fatrdia. 4th row, Bill Curry, (asst. coach), James Dawkins, Jonathon Paquin-Felske, Mitchell Griffith, Gord Fritz (trainer), Josh Martin, TJ Baker, Connor Hitchcock, Eric Vlasic, Mike Griffiths (trainer). Missing, Ryan Payne. Submitted photo