Atom AIL Rangers repeat as tournament champs

Sackville hosted the annual Atom-Peewee-Bantam "A" Tournament over the weekend. The Sackville Atom AIL Rangers faced some tough competition on their way to repeating as tournament champions.
The Rangers nipped the Cap Pele Stars 3-2, downed the Cumberland Crossfires 2-0, and tied the Eastern Shore Mariners 2-2 in round-robin play. Sackville went on to defeat the Cap Pele Stars 2-0 in the semi-final.
The final was a battle of the border towns, with the Rangers defeating the Crossfires 2-0.
The Rangers began defending their title on Friday with a close contest against the Cap Pele Stars.
The Stars were the first to record a goal.
Liam Conrad scored the equalizer and went on to score two more goals for the natural hat trick. Brook Beale and Mitchell Mitton earned assists.
The Stars added a marker in the third period but were unable to capitalize on a power play to tie up the game and the Rangers squeaked out a 3-2 win.
Conrad was selected as the player of the game.
Game two for the Rangers was an exciting matchup with the Cumberland Crossfires. After a scoreless first period, Sackville netminder Kyle Cadman kept the Crossfires off the board when he made an outstanding save on a two man break.
Conrad notched the lone goal of the second period.
Colby Ward prevented a breakaway with a strong poke check.
The third period remained scoreless until William Lafford sent Conrad down the ice. After the goalie went down to save the first shot Conrad wristed the rebound into the empty cage.
Acton and Cadman shared the shutout for Sackville in the 2-0 victory.
Player of the game honours went to Daniel Jensen.
Saturday afternoon the Rangers took on the Eastern Shore Mariners, needing a win or a tie to secure first place in the round robin.
The first period ended with two goose eggs on the scoreboard. Madison Morrissey was strong in her end, poke checking the puck to prevent a breakaway.
The Rangers finally broke the stalemate midway through the second. Mitton cut into the Mariner's zone and hit paydirt. Assisting on the play was Lafford.
The lead was short-lived, however. A mere nine seconds later the Mariners countered and the game was tied.
Conrad put the Rangers back into the lead in the third period.
With 1:09 remaining on the clock, the Mariners scored the equalizer.
Lafford was the player of the game.
Saturday evening the Rangers played their third game of the day, meeting Cap Pele Stars in the Semi-final.
The first frame was scoreless. Ross McCormack was stellar on defence, keeping shots on net to a minimum.
Conrad continued his dominance on the ice, scoring the only two goals of the contest during the second frame. Assists went to Lafford, Kyle Lowerison and goalie Cadman.
The third period remained scoreless. Acton and Cadman earned their second shutout of the tournament.
Lowerison was named player of the game.
After a string of close contests, the Rangers had their work cut out for them in Sunday's action-packed final.
Kyle Ward generated numerous scoring chances but was denied by the netminder.
Zack Brown and Sam Trites worked tirelessly along the boards getting the puck to their teammates.
Paxton Clare broke up a scrum in front of the Rangers' net when he slid across the crease and blocked a shot.
Acton made some brilliant saves during his turn between the pipes and was rewarded with player of the game honours for his efforts.
Jeremy Hicks scored the eventual game winner at the end of the second period. His shot hit the crossbar and went in behind the goalie. Morrissey assisted.
Conrad added extra insurance in the third frame, scoring unassisted.
Acton and Cadman shared their third shutout of the weekend.