This weekend the U11 Aurora Tigers AE team competed in the Bradford Blue & Gold Classic tournament.
The U11 Tigers rolled through a tough 9 team round robin format and kicked off the tournament by defeating the West Niagara Flying Aces 7-2 and the Essex Ravens 3-1 on Friday.
Saturday, the U11 Tigers opened the morning with a 13-0 win over the Belle River Canadiens and then closed out the round robin with a 4-3 win over the Centre Wellington Fusion.
The Tigers 4-0 record in the round robin secured the #1 seed in the playoff round and set-up a semi final rematch with the Centre Wellington Fusion.
Sunday morning the U11 Tigers came out flying with relentless pressure and a strong forecheck that powered the team to a 5-1 win in the semi-final game over Centre Wellington.
In the championship final, the Tigers came up against a strong King Rebellion team that have defeated the Tigers twice in early league play this season. In the first period the Tigers rallied from an early 1-0 deficit and stormed back to take the lead. The Tigers carried the lead throughout the game but King continued to compete and ended up tying the game with 1.5 seconds remaining. Headed to overtime, the Tigers regrouped and carried the play in King's zone with many exciting chances finally netting the tournament win 4-3 in double overtime!
This weekend was another amazing step forward for this group of players. It was a pleasure to watch them compete, work hard each shift and build confidence in each game.
On behalf of the coaching staff - I would like to thank all of the parents, families and sponsors (OPM Sales, Wily Global, Canadian Tire, IA Private Wealth and RFD Railings & Design) for their support this weekend.
Go Tigers!
Kris French
Head Coach – U11 Aurora Tigers AE