On Aug. 2, the Arthur Intermediate Aces headed to Whitby for Provincials, competing in the B division.
Game one saw the Aces take on the Milton Mavericks, a team that they played in regular season, in round robin play. The game was back and forth with Aces goalie Scott Tasker playing strong to end the game in a 3-3 tie. Aces had 18 minutes in penalties to the Mavericks 14 minutes. Scoring in this game was Easton Bieman from Quentin Kelly; Matt Hatch from Tim Nauta and Jason Nauta, unassisted.
Game two was against the Sudbury Rockhounds.
The Aces played a clean game taking no penalties while the Rockhounds racked up six minutes. Claiming the victory in this match was the Aces by a score of 6-4. Scoring for the Aces were Hatch from T. Nauta and Wade Green; Mark Tasker from Hatch; Avery Bilton from T. Nauta; Hatch from T. Nauta and Ben McIntosh; Eli McLeod from T. Nauta and then Hatch, unassisted.
The Aces played their last game in round robin play against the Wallaceburg Red Devils. The Aces took control and dominated the third period coming out on top with a score of 5-2. This game got out of control in the last few minutes, which resulted with the Aces getting a total of 43 penalty minutes and the Red Devils 36 penalty minutes. Scoring the Aces’ goals were Brandon Thring from Josh Bowen and Green; Bieman from Thring and Ryan Holinshead; J. Nauta unassisted; Hatch from Luke Zettler and Holinshead; and Hatch from T. Nauta.
The Aces met up with the confident Guelph Regals team in the semi-final game.
The Aces were determined to give the Regals a run for their money and what a game it was.
Tied 0-0 after the first period, the Aces never gave up. “They played their hearts out,” team officals state. After 45 minutes of play the game was tied 2-2, and on to overtime it went. Both teams were determined to score the game winner. Just a few minutes into overtime the Aces scored to win 3-2 advancing to the B finals. Scoring were Hatch unassisted; Josh McKee from Bieman and the game winner was scored by Bieman unassisted.
The Aces met the Markham Thunder in the final match. The Aces stayed right with the Thunder for the first two periods, but just ran out of steam in the third resulting in the Thunder claiming the B championship by a score of 7-3. Scoring in this game were: Bieman unassisted; Hatch from T. Nauta; and McKee from J. Nauta.
