St. Thomas Jr. Stars complete 6-0 run at home tourney with a 3-0 shutout
October 24, 2023
St. Thomas Jr Stars are, from left, front - Noah Menlove, Cole Prescott, first row - Lincoln Smith, James Hentz, Colton Rundle, Dom Nieman, Malcolm Travis, Colin Kocsis, Mason Friesen, Jake Wilkinson, Ryan Leddy, second row - Carter Gosnell, Oscar Moore, Tye Thompson, Matthew Adzija, Brooke Gustavson, Jack Groeneweg, back row - coaches Troy Travis, Joe Hentz, Ben Gustavson, Jim Kocsis.
By Rob J. Ross
ST. THOMAS - St. Thomas U11A Jr. Stars were victorious on home ice.
Malcolm Travis did all of the scoring, with a hat trick, as the Jr. Stars won the U11A final, 3-0, over London Jr. Mustangs White, at the St. Thomas major hockey tournament, at the Joe October 22.
Oscar Moore assisted on two of the goals, while goalie Noah Menlove had the shutout.
Mason Friesen, Brooke Gustavson, Matthew Adzija and Jack Groeneweg, also picked up helpers on Travis goals.
The Jr. Stars went 6-0, outscoring the opposition, 32 to nine, overcoming a sickness that affected some of the team.
"It was apparent how resilient our team is," St. Thomas head coach Troy Travis said. "Five or six players seemed to be battling some sort of illness, but were determined to give it their all to help their team."
St. Thomas cruised through pool play, with only the Upper York Admirals managing to keep the score close, losing 5-4.
"We had multiple people who don't watch many of our games comment how well our team moves the puck. It is usually what helps us win games," coach Travis said. "Although the coaches are always pushing our players to look for the open player even more than we already do, we don't ever seem satisfied with how much we pass."
The semifinal was a wild shootout with the Strathroy Rockets that St. Thomas won, 7-5.
Gustavson with two goals, including an empty netter, Moore, Groeneweg, Jake Wilkinson, Tye Thompson and Colton Rundle, scored.
"Crazy back and forth action and we barely hung in the end," coach Travis said.
The U11A Stars have been on fire early this season, undefeated over 15 games, with 14 wins and a tie. St. Thomas is first in Alliance league play, at 4-0-1.
Tourney round-up
In U13A action, St. Thomas lost in the semifinals, 2-1, to London Mustangs Purple, the eventual champions, blanking Barrie, 1-0, in the final.
In U15, St. Thomas went 2-1-1, but didn't advance to the semifinals, in a division that had 12 teams. The Dorchester Dragons had a tie and three losses.
Mt. Brydges won U15 gold edging Woodstock, 4-3, in the final.
In U18, the Jr. Stars were 1-1-2. The Kent Cobras blanked Welland, 4-0, in the final.
Follow on Instagram - stthomasmha
© 2023 Hometownplay.ca