BARRIE – The Walkerton Capitals U15 Rep Team capped off their season undefeated in the OMHA U15 Tier 2 Championship. The Capitals started off the tournament with their first game on Friday afternoon against Mariposa.
The team started the game off strong with three goals in the first period by Keenan Cartwright, Jack Fleischauer and Nevin Schumacher. Cartwright scored his second of the game in the second period, with the final Walkerton goal by Nathan Romphf in the third period. The team played strong and united in a 5-1 win.
With a short rest between games, the Capitals were back on the ice that evening to face the Tavistock Titans.
The game started with the Titans scoring the first goal of the game but soon after Walkerton came back with a scoring burst, tallying four goals in the first period – Cartwright (2), Keaton Neilly and Owen Frank.
In the second period, Landen Adams scored Walkerton’s fifth goal of the game, followed by Cartwright scoring his third of the night to complete the hat trick. Frank finished the game off by scoring Walkerton’s seventh goal, giving the Capitals a 7-5 win.
On Saturday afternoon, the Capitals faced Dunnville in the quarter-final.
This was a tough battle, as the Capitals were down two players, however the team didn’t let that stop them as they persevered with a 2-0 win. Eric Chambers registered the shutout in goal, while Romphf and Nolan Fitzsimons scored for the Capitals.
On Sunday morning, Walkerton was back on the ice for the semifinal game against South Huron.
Starting off on the right foot, Cartwright scored less then two minutes into the game to take an early lead. In the second period the team came out strong with four more goals – Frank, Nathan Bester and Cartwright. Cartwright’s magic hands would add another – his third of the game and second hat trick of the tournament – to give Walkerton a 5-1 lead. Neither team would add another, giving the Capitals a 5-1 win and a date in the championship game.
In the championship game Sunday afternoon, the Capitals faced the Ilderton Jets.
The Capitals were exhausted yet determined, and nervous but fierce.
The team starts off strong with the first goal of the game by Frank, followed by the second goal by Fitzsimmons. It wasn’t a stress-free game – the boys had to work hard and play strong defensively.
The Jets gave them a good fight and didn’t stop until the end. In the second period, the Jets scored to make it a 2-1 game. Shortly after Romphf scored the third and final goal of the game, leaving with a final score of 3-1 and a championship banner for the Walkerton Capitals.
Coach Barry Heaney told the Herald-Times in an email that with five games in three days, the team needed strong contributions from all 14 skaters and great goaltending, which they got.
“The coaching staff are proud of the commitment shown by these players through the year and for their strong play throughout the OMHA Championship weekend,” said Heaney. “Congratulations to all of the players on this amazing and well-deserved team win.”
Heaney also thanked the coaching staff of Steve Folmer, Devin Neilly, Steve Romphf and team manager Trish Serratore for their commitment to the team this season.
The Walkerton Capitals U15 rep team consists of Duncan Abell, Landen Adams, Carson Baglole, Nate Bester, Keenan Cartwright, Nolan Fitzsimmons, Jack Fleischauer, Trent Folmer, Owen Frank, Landon Graul, Neil Heaney, Keaton Neilly, Nathan Romphf, Nevin Schumacher, Eric Chambers and Grayden Bird (AP).
