The Lambton Shores Atom Rep Predators headed into Detroit this weekend to play in the Motown Cup Tournament. The team played 4 games in less than 48hrs and managed to fit in a Red Wings/ Penguins game and a little pool time at the hotel.
The First game on Friday night saw the Preds up against the Rocky River Pirates AA team and the Preds were ready, they stormed out to a 2-0 lead early only to see the Pirates come back and tie it. The Preds pressed on and scored 2 in the third to win 4-2.
The next game was an early affair at 7:20am Saturday against the Plymouth Stingrays AA. The script was exactly the same as the night before, early 2-0 lead, other team ties it and the Preds finish them in the third. Score 4-2.
The 3rd game was Saturday afternoon vs. the Toronto Royals AA team. The team had already locked up a finals berth before the game but the coaching staff kept that to themselves to prevent a letdown. The Preds played a solid game all the way through and came away with a 5-2 win and first place in the division. Next up, back to the hotel to catch the team bus to Joe Louis Arena for the Wings/ Pens game which, to the delight of most of the team, the Pens won easily.
The finals on Sunday morning was against the Rocky River Pirates AA team again. Rocky River is from the Cleveland area and on Sunday they were ready to rock and roll. The Pirates looked like they had learned something from our Friday night game and had a plan in place. They came out flying and the Preds looked a little gassed, but they kept fighting. The Pirates grabbed the lead and the Preds fought back 3 times before the Preds finally grabbed their first lead of the game late in the 3rd 4-3. Then it was the Pirates turn to fight back and very late in the third they tied it up and off to overtime we went. To top it off the ref, who had seemed to have lost his whistle for most of the game, found it at the end of regulation to give the Preds a penalty at the buzzer. With the Man advantage in overtime the Pirates were too much and beat the Preds 5-4.
Although the Preds were feeling a little down at the end of the game, they should hold their heads high, playing in an exciting game, after an exhausting weekend of great hockey and fun. They are the Motown Cup Finalists, playing 3 AA teams throughout the weekend and beating them all.
Great Job Gang!