By Sam Laskaris /
A Duffield Devils’ squad is known for its defensive prowess.
But even members of the Devils’ Novice 8 Black team were rather surprised with their own performances at the recent Scarborough Youth Hockey League’s tournament staged Feb. 4 to 7.
The Devils registered shutouts in all four of their contests in the tournament. Duffield blanked Kitchener 2-0 in the championship final.
“We were not expecting four shutouts,” said Devils’ manager Nick Ametrano. “We’re more of a team that lets in a goal in the last minute of play buts wins 3-1.”
Ametrano said his club had recorded just one shutout this season prior to the tournament.
Duffield kicked off the Scarborough tourney with a convincing 7-0 triumph over Kitchener. The Devils then beat Forest Hill 6-0 and Scarborough 5-0 to advance to the championship final.
Though it had handily defeated Kitchener in its tournament opener, Ametrano said his club was anticipating a stiff challenge in the final.
“In that first game we played them, they had just come in from out of town,” he said. “They were much better in the final but our guys played well, too.”
While not allowing any goals throughout the tournament was a bit of a shocker, Ametrano said the Devils’ results were not that surprising.
“We’re typically a strong defensive team,” he said. “And the coaches preach defence first.”
Noah Ronchin and Curtis Grant split the netminding duties for the Devils at the tournament. They were credited with two shutouts each.
Grant, who played in the championship final, was also selected as the tournament’s MVP. |