The St. Albert Gregg Distributors Sabres lost the same number of games at the John Reid Memorial Tournament as they did in league play this season.
The host team finished the 34th annual bantam AAA tournament with one win and four straight losses after going 2-3 last year.
"Our team played really well. We put our hearts out on the ice and things happened how they happened," said Joshua Perrott, an assistant captain with the 17-4-6 Sabres in the Alberta Major Bantam Hockey League.
In the last game before the playoff round the Sabres fell 5-3 to the Cloverdale Colts, the eventual tournament champions.
"Cloverdale is a tough, fast-paced team. They move the puck well and they played as a team really good," Perrott said.
The Colts racked up four goals in the second period, including a pair in the last minute of play. The penalty-riddled Sabres rallied in the third on goals by Stephen Cretain, Matteo Gennaro and Ethan Lazaro before the Colts netted the insurance marker with 1:17 to play. Shots were 33-27 for the Sabres.
"It took a lot of character in our locker room to come back and make it a close one. I'm really proud of the guys for not giving up and fighting until the end. Games like that one will help us become a stronger team for the remainder of the season," Perrott said.
Friday's loss dropped the Sabres into the C playoff bracket in the 16-team draw. They wrapped up the tournament with losses of 4-2 to the Calgary Bisons and 7-4 to the Lloydminster Heat.
In pool play Thursday the Sabres defeated the Notre Dame Hounds 3-1 and in the feature game against the Los Angeles Selects they let a two-goal lead slip away while giving up three in a row in the middle frame in the 3-2 loss.
"We tried our hearts out and the outcome happens as it does," Perrott said.
The versatile winger was one of three Sabres who played in the tournament last year.
"I've been really lucky enough to experience the tournament twice in a row and I've been really shocked at the amount of work that goes into it by the volunteers and many hockey families," said the Grade 9 Vincent J. Maloney student. "All the Sabres want to thank all the volunteers and organizers for putting together an amazing tournament for everybody involved. It's one all the players will remember forever. As players you really feel the support the community gives us. It's awesome."
Perrott, 14, finished in a third-place tie in team scoring with three points in five games while skating mainly on a line with Lazaro and Gennaro. Lazaro was the Sabres' top point getter with six and Gennaro led the team in goals with four.
"I just left it all out on the ice and played as hard as I could for my teammates," Perrott said. "Playing in this tournament last year made it a lot easier, just knowing what it takes to win and how hard you have to play every game."
Award winner
His performance was recognized at the tournament banquet as the recipient of the prestigious John Reid Memorial Award for heart and hustle. It's presented to a Sabres' player who symbolized the person and hockey player Reid was. The tournament was renamed in Reid's memory in 2004.
"Receiving this award is a huge honour for me. To be recognized by Mr. Reid [John's father] is truly special. I'm going to remember that award for the rest of my life," Perrott said. "What makes up this award are attributes that I pride myself on. To be recognized for heart and determination is awesome but I also thought our team played with the same qualities this weekend."
Previous winners were Tyler Mrkonjic, Jake Mykitiuk, Jed Groenenboom, Josh Winquist, Ryan Harrison, Steve Wall, Blaine Bokenfohr and Nate Fleming.
"To be in that group is really special," Perrott said.
The Sabres resume league play tonight against the KC Squires (6-18-2) at 7:45 p.m. at Akinsdale Arena. The Sabres are third in the nitro north division and trail the first-place SSAC Southgate Lions (20-4-3) by three points. They are 2-1-1 against the Lions this season.
"We're just going to crank it up for the second half of the season and play as hard as we can," said Perrott, who has nine goals and four assists in 23 games. "We just need to know that we're a great hockey team and we can compete with anyone when we're on our game."
ICE CHIPS: In the championship final the Colts defeated the Semiahmoo Ravens 5-1. Tyler Soy, the tournament's MVP and top forward, led the attack with two goals and three assists. Jakob Stukel added a pair of goals. Gregory Maggio started in net and faced 34 shots.
Soy finished second in tournament scoring with nine goals and 20 points in six games. Tyler Benson of the Lions led all scorers with 10 goals and 21 points in five games.
Visit www.johnreidmemorial.com for game scores, team stats, award winners and all-star team selections.
