Matsos explodes for natural hat trick

   Jr. Stars' forward scores four consecutive goals, leading St. Thomas to a 6-5

   comeback win in the Atom final, at the Boston Pizza Cup major tournament

    Sunday, October 14, 2018

By Rob J. Ross 

ST. THOMAS - George Matsos picked the perfect time to break out for the St. Thomas Junior Stars.

The forward scored four consecutive goals, lifting the Jr. Stars to a 6-5 comeback win over the Owen Sound Junior Attack, in the Atom final, at the Boston Pizza Cup major tournament, at the Joe.

With St. Thomas trailing 4-2 into the third period, Matsos took over scoring twice, one coming on a five-on-three power play.

When Owen Sound pushed ahead 5-4, with six minutes to go, Matsos replied by bulging the twine two more times, including the game winner, with 24 seconds left in the period.

"He (Matos) had a slow start to the tournament but the kid is highly talented. He found his groove and the bounces came his way. It's his hard work that gets him his success," said St. Thomas head coach Dino Delellis. "We have three good lines that go hard and I think by the end of the game we just wore them out."

Owen Sound scored early in the third period to go up 4-2 and the two goal deficit could have been curtains for the home team.

"We just kept their spirits up. It's easy especially when you're 10 (years old), to get down on yourself when it's 4-2. We kept talking to the kids, telling them to stay up and keep plugging away and good things will happen," Delellis said. "There is no quit in them. These boys worked hard and it was a good team, Owen Sound. They weren't an easy task. We weren't giving up and we had good goaltending like we did all weekend."

Mason Beechey and Preston Willemse scored in the first period for St. Thomas. Matsos picked up one assist, as well as Nathan Watson, Mitchell Dennis and Lucas Delellis.

Cooper Charyna had a hat trick for Owen Sound and Brock McIlmoyle a pair of goals.

The Jr. Stars finished the tournament with a 5-1 record. St. Thomas eliminated the Toronto Avalanche, with a 2-1 win, in the semifinals, avenging a 4-1 defeat to Toronto during pool play.

At their first tournament of the year, the Garden City Early Bird in St. Catharines, St. Thomas brought home silver medals, following a 3-1-1 record.

"We made the final last (tournament). Nerves set in that final and we didn't get the outcome we liked," said coach Delellis. "But we learned from that and that's the main thing with this group. As long we're learning, we're improving."