Bantam’s One Win Away From Ultimate Goal, News, Bantam REP, 2011-2012 Season (Zurich Minor Hockey)

This Team is part of the 2011-2012 Season season, which is not set as the current season.
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Mar 19, 2012 | mmerner | 2451 views
Bantam’s One Win Away From Ultimate Goal
The Zurich Bantam Thunder hockey team is one victory away from an Ontario Championship after edging the Manvers Mustangs 6-5 near Peterborough on Sunday in game two of the OMHA ‘E’ finals. Three power play goals and a shorthanded marker proved to be the difference in a hard fought battle with an exciting finish. Zurich opened the scoring early on a nice deke by Matt Knight-Bedour from John Cooke. Manvers tied the score at 1 before Zurich broke the game open by the mid point of the game to take a 4-1 lead. Manvers battled back to make it 5-3 by the end of the 2nd period and began the 3rd strong scoring 30 seconds in, to get within one. 


Zurich scored half way through the period before the Mustangs battled back again to make it 6-5 with 2 min remaining and pressed hard with the extra man after pulling their goaltender, to make it a nail biting finish, but were kept at bay by the hard forechecking Zurich team. Other Zurich scorers were Bryson Volochkov and Mitch Finlay with 2 each and Cody Merner with 1, assists went to Devon Steckle with 3, Merner with 2, Finlay and Volochkov with 1 each. Will Overholt made several key saves throughout the game. McCallum Bourne, Jeremy Lynn, Jake Earle, Jarret Oke and Elliot Paulger also had strong games. Head coach Pete Overholt was impressed with the players hard work ethic. 
Game one Saturday in Zurich in front of over 200  fans the locals came out strong scoring 18 seconds into the game on a shot from the point by Steckle on a pass from Finlay. Then two minutes later Merner buried one on a nice two on one pass from Finlay. Before the first period ended Volochkov knocked one home on yet another pass from Finlay and Merner to make the score 3-0. Volockov sniped one more in the 3rd and Manvers notched a late one to make the final 4-1. Kimberly Hendrick played an amazing game in goal making many great saves. It looked like both teams had a little more to offer and other than the first period it wasn’t a real fast paced game, with Zurich playing only as hard as they had to for the win. The team can clinch the villages 6th OMHA crown of all time this Saturday March 24 in Zurich at 4:30 pm. Past champions were 1956-57 Bantam, 1959-60 Juvenile, 1969-70 Bantam, 1993-94 Peewee and 2009-10 Midget.