BY DALLAS SMITH

LEDUC, Alberta - The first medal game of the day saw the Brooklin Merchants face the Native Sons for the Bronze Medal. Both teams had several impressive wins throughout the tournament but fell short in Thursday’s semifinal matches. With the prospect of a gold medal out of reach, both teams came into the Friday afternoon game excited and ecstatic to capture the tournament’s third spot. 

Both teams entered the game with their regular starting goalies on the bench, with Luke Coote and Jacob Lazore getting the starts for their teams. The first five minutes of the period featured a back and forth defensive struggle. As the defences continued to consistently hold the opposing offences scoreless, the Merchants Jonas Derks was able to leak out of the Merchants defensive end and open the scoring with a fast break goal. Not wanting to fall behind early, the Native Sons tied the game at one after an unsettled goal from Jonathan Jimerson. The Native Sons would score another two goals from Charles Thomas Scanlan and Geffery Besser, increasing their goal run to four as the clock ticked past the midway point. A fifth goal from the Native Sons prompted the Merchants coaching staff to replace Coote with John Cheseborough in net. Initially, the goaltender switch had no effect on the Native Sons as they immediately scored again. Kyle O’Brien and Chris Attwood would cut the Native Sons lead to two before the period concluded. Despite the late goals, the Native Sons entered the second period with a 6-4 lead. 

Even with a two-goal cushion, the Native Sons were unrelenting in their attempts to lengthen their lead. Despite being down a player, after a Bench minor for too many men, the Native Sons were able to stop the Merchants extra man unit while adding a short-handed fast break goal from Charles Thomas Scanlan, his second of the game. The Merchants defense stiffened significantly in the second by successfully defending three successive extra-man opportunities. Their tough defence paid off with a short hand goal on the last of these three penalties. After their penalty expired, they were able to score again after Matt Spanger snuck unseen into the middle of the Native Sons defense to bring the score to 8-6. Chris Attwood would add four successive scores in the second portion of the second period to inch the Merchants ahead of the Native Sons with a score of 10-8. Attwood’s five goals in the game prompted the Native Sons to revert back to goaltender Hunyahdengowah Abrams for the remainder of the game. The Merchants welcomed Abrams with two goals on their first two shots, which included a sixth goal from Attwood. The Merchants offensive explosion propelled the Merchants to a 12-8 lead at the conclusion of the second period. 

The two offenses struggled to score in the first six minutes of the third period. However, looking to close the Merchants four-goal advantage, Brandon Brooks found the back of the net with a low to low underhand shot. With only a three goal lead, the Merchants continued to be meticulous with their offensive possessions, draining the thirty-second clock on multiple occasions. As the clock ticked closer to the final five minutes, the Native Sons Jamie McComber was able to score a breakaway goal to bring his team to within two. However, Zach Sloan was quickly able to regain the Merchants three-goal cushion and put the up 13-10 with five minutes remaining. With the game winding down, the Native Sons pushed aggressively for turnovers as they were in need of offensive possessions. Content with their three goal lead, the Merchants drained the final minutes of the clock, earning them a 13-10 victory and a Bronze Medal in the 2016 President’s Cup.