The Glancaster Bombers defeated the Brantford 99ers Black 4-2 in the U-13 B/BB division of the 52nd Wayne Gretzky Tournament championship game on Friday, December 29, 2023.
Right out of the gate, the Bombers proved they meant business and solidified their lead with Maxwell Legge and Marcus Bodo both scoring goals within the last four minutes of the first.
With the score sitting at 0-2, the Bombers continued trying to maintain their control of the puck in the second. After going back and forth, things were looking up for the 99ers when Jason Taksas tried for brakeaway with 2:36 left in the stanza, but to no avail.
The 99ers gained a leg up when they managed to spend the last two minutes of the period in Bombers territory. The pressure proved successful when Samson Kisac, with an assist from Jackson Evans, scored on the powerplay, bringing the score 1-2.
Moving into the third, a large amount of play stayed in the neutral zone, however the 99ers managed to cover good ground during the heated stanza.
However, with just over five minutes left of the third, it was Devin Mestekemper of Glancaster who scored the team’s third goal of the game. A short while later, his teammate, Alexander Bodo managed to score on the powerplay.
With the score sitting at 1-4, 99ers weren’t giving up hope yet, and with 44 seconds left of the game, Gianni Jr. Imola scored on the powerplay.
Despite the hometown team keeping Glancaster on their toes in the final seconds, the Bombers won the game with a score of 2-4.
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
