The 2009 Plymouth Stingrays won their third consecutive Metro Detroit Silver Stick title this Sunday, December 6th. They played absolute stellar hockey all weekend long, and walked out of St. Clair Shores Civic Arena carrying the green banner and a ticket to New Market, Ontario for the International Silver Stick Tournament (January 14-17, 2010).
The Stingrays started off the weekend with a 1-0 win over a tough and feisty Compuware Ambassadors team. Later in the week, the Stingrays battled the long time rival Mt. Clemens Wolves. The Stingrays were persistent all game long and recieved their second straight shutout victory, winning 3-0. On Saturday afternoon, the Stingrays matched up with a very talented Grosse Pointe Bulldogs team that was playing great hockey the whole tournament. To conclude Round Robin play, the Stingrays won 3-1 heading into Sunday morning.
Ahhhh, Sunday morning in St. Clair Shores: First week of December, 23 degrees, Silver Stick Sunday, and another tough Semi-Final game against one of the best teams in the country -- Novi Ice Cats. The Stingrays carried over their team play and passing to Sunday morning and it showed....the scoreboard read 4-0 at the end of the second period, in favor of the 'Rays. Typical Novi, they never gave up and scored two power play goals, and another one late in the period to make things interesting. The Stingrays battled hard in the corners and in front of the net, holding off Novi in a very tight, gruesome 4-3 victory.
The month of December wouldn't be the same without the annual Allen Park Huskies and Plymouth Stingrays "Battle for the Green Banner", and what a game it was. Allen Park drew first blood with some beautiful passing and puck movement through the neutral and offensive zone. Late in the second period, the Stingrays fought hard and scored two quick goals which ended the period. In the third period, the 'Rays put two more in to cap off a great tournament and a 4-2 Championship win against one of the best teams in North America.
Congratulations to all of the players, coaches, and parents of the Plymouth Stingrays. All of the hard work, team work, and camaraderie has paid off! Good luck in Toronto, Stingrays!
Since the start of the 2009 Season, the Plymouth Stingrays talked about setting goals for the upcoming year and working hard to achieve them. At the top of that list, the Stingrays wanted to work hard and compete with the best PeeWee A teams from the area in the Metro Detroit Regional Silver Stick Tournament, and come out on top. Well, all of the tough practices, grueling off-ice conditioning workouts, and long weekends paid off as the Stingrays won their 3rd straight Silver Stick Regional Title in St. Clair Shores, Michigan, the weekend of December 3-6, 2009.
As the backbones of our team, goalies Trevor McManus (3x Silver Stick Champ) and Josh Wilk (2x Silver Stick Champ) played stellar hockey in all five games. The goalies earned two shutouts, while only letting in six goals in five games of the tournament.
Bear Bryant once said: "Offense wins games. Defense wins championships." One of the trademarks of the 1998 Plymouth Stingrays is their ingenious and scintillating style of defense. All six of our defensemen play as hard as they can in every single game, while respecting their opponents and the game at the same time.
Stingray veterans William Borrows and David Kiers, both 3x SS Champs, lead our defense by example and constant positive encouragement. This team can always count on enforcers Nick Beers (3x Champ) and newcomer Zack Finzel when our team needs a big hit or big play. Most importantly, we are always receiving a 110% effort and hustle from Bailey Thompson and Will DeVaney, who have a combined five Silver Stick titles to add to their resumes.
All weekend long, the consistent and dangerous Stingray offense showed their true colors and came up big in the two biggest games of the tournament.
The go-to line in many games is lead by Stingray Veteran workhorse Ryan Radwan (3x Champ), and his partners in crime: Evan Newel (3x Champ) and new addition JoJo Mancinelli. This line uses their perpetual speed and determination to achieve what they do best -- create plays and scoring opportunities.
Also leading the offensive charge in the tournament was long-serving patriarch Riley Brass (3x Champ), teaming up with "The Professor," Carson Pakula (3x Champ), and newly acquired Grant Reszczyk. Working as a cohesive unit, this line specializes in puck movement and team play creating many scoring opportunities for our team.
Rounding off our astounding offense is hard-hitting aggressor, Alec Allen. Being new to the team, he has joined Zac Osaer (2x Champ) and Anthony Solack (3x Champ) to create "The Grind Line". They always find a way to send a message to rival teams and put the puck in the back of the net by doing whatever it takes.
Putting up four unanswered goals against a top 5 Novi Ice Cats team speaks volumes to Stingray Nation. Not stopping there, the 'Rays illustrious goal scorers put up four goals against one of the toughest defenses in the country in the Championship Game.
The Stingray Coaching Staff couldn't be more proud of this team as a whole. They have come a long way since the start of this season, and they expect many great things in the 2009-10 season.
