The Ottawa Sting Major Bantam AA team first won the Silver Stick Qualifying Tournament in Pembroke last November to earn a spot in the Silver Stick Finals held this past weekend in Port Huron, Michigan.  The Sting then went undefeated throughout the tournament with wins in all round robin and playoff games.  The Sting shutout the Mississauga Jets with a 2-0 victory to win the Silver Stick.  Congrats to the Ottawa Sting!

The Bantam AA Silver Stick Finals championship game was as good as it could get.

The Ottawa Sting – the No. 1-ranked team from Ontario – faced the No. 3-ranked Mississauga Jets and locked them down on defense with a 2-0 finals win. All the Sting allowed was just 11 shots on net, and that helped goaltender Justin Lee get the shutout win.

“Tonight it was about tenacity,” Sting head coach Bob Saikaley said.

“I’m a firm believer that our offense starts from the back end and our defense starts from the front end.”

All the Sting needed was one goal in the shutout win, and they got it with five minutes left in the first period off the stick of Sean Kearns.

“It was pretty exciting,” Kearns said. “It got us a little bit of breathing room.”

Kearns had a huge weekend wire-to-wire and was awarded with his play with the tournament and championship game MVP awards. He may seem undersized at a first look, but within seconds anyone could tell his game is championship-esque.

“Sean’s obviously the smallest guy on the ice, but he has the biggest heart on our team,” Saikaley said. “He’s a fearless leader and I can’t say enough about him.”

The Jets had a late power play with just under five minutes left in the game, but Lee was never called on to make a save. Just after they killed that penalty, the Sting went on a power play and got an insurance goal by Clay Byers with 1:14 left on the clock.

As the seconds expired off the clock, the players all mobbed each other behind the net they protected well all night long. It certainly makes the eight-hour drive home a little better.

“There will be some smiles,” Saikaley said. “Until the boys fall asleep.”