Bantam Bronze had the pleasure of playing in the International Silver Stick Tournament January 6-9, 2011. The tournament was played in the beautiful Niagara Falls region of Ontario. The team had the thrill of playing competitive international hockey with all four games being against teams from Canada. The games were exciting but in the end the boys understood why hockey is Canada’s national sport. Most importantly the team spent the four days bonding and building lifelong memories.

Thursday the boys played the Blades from Lincoln and the Stoney Park Warriors. The team played hard but lost both games. In Thursday night’s Opening Ceremony, close to 80 teams mingled and traded team pins. The boys came away with pins from across North America. Thursday also had the biggest surprise as they unveiled their new special Stars away jerseys. (Thank you Ray Roman.) As many other teams commented and you can see from the picture, “The jerseys are the coolest of the tournament."

Friday’s opponents were the Port Perry Predators and the Mt. Brydges Cougars. Both games were tough losses. Friday night featured a team pizza party and a visit to the freezing Falls to get ice coated. It was a beautiful and unique experience. Back at the hotel between swimming and camping out in Coach Joe and Phil’s rooms, the team played spirited games of bubble hockey. Saturday the team regrouped and visited the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. Everyone enjoyed the exhibits and displays of hockey history. Getting their picture with the Stanley Cup was by far the highlight.

The trip was a great experience with meeting many other teams from Canada and the USA, seeing the incredible Falls in the winter, and spending time together as a team. The team would like to thank their Coaches Joe Pace and Phil Pace for putting up with 15 energetic boys and also thank their parents who went out of their way to make the trip special.