On a day where eight teams legitimately had a chance at horsemen hockey glory, it ultimately came down to just two.
Members of the ‘McEneny’s Maniacs’ and team ‘TheStable.ca’ pose for a group shot prior to the championship game (Stephanie Wade / Over The Rainbow)
It was highly expected that one of two teams would reach the final, while the other squeaked in via ‘goals for,’ ‘goals against,’ and ‘plus/minus.’ Nevertheless, the final turned out to be one for the ages.
Coach Scott McEneny and his ‘McEneny’s Maniacs’ were widely favoured from the luck of their draft draw of ‘first overall,’ where they took eventual MVP Denis Hamel. The squad never really looked back – until the final, that is.
McEneny’s Maniacs went 2-1 in round-robin play, but couldn’t better the overall record of team ‘Trevor Oh Henry’ who finished first in 'Pool A'.
Mike Saftic's team took first place in 'Pool B' with a 3-0 record, followed by second place ‘TheStable.ca’ and Head Coach Anthony MacDonald.
TheStable.ca won its semi-final over the Trevor Henry team, in-part, due to some unreal goalkeeping from Louis-Philippe Roy, and secured their spot in the final.
McEneny’s Maniacs survived its semi-final and advanced relatively unscathed, although it relied heavily on goalie Steve Wiley and needed an empty netter to seal the deal over Team Saftic.
It was a back-and-forth affair in the final: 1-1, 2-1, and eventually 4-4 before the final buzzer sounded, which sent the Horsemen's Hockey Final to its first overtime in the open era.
TheStable.ca got loose across the blue line and made not one move, but two, and buried the winner against the Maniacs to gain all the glory and win the championship.
Members of ‘TheStable.ca’ pictured relishing their hard-fought victory (Stephanie Wade / Over The Rainbow)
Pictured above, the winning team consisted of: (Standing, from left to right) Coach, Anthony MacDonald, Nick Ratchford & Braden Hillis. (Middle row, L-R) Todd Ratchford, Brennan Feasey, Lee Ibey, Drew Smyth, Jim Gillespie, Mike Sloan & Ray Gaudet. (Front row, L-R) Dan Fisher, Louis-Phillipe Roy, Doug McNair & Stephen Surette. (Missing from the photo are Dr. Ian Moore & Billy Davis Jr.).
The draft, the tournament, and all of the other events were organized by the tournament team of Curtis MacDonald and Jody Jamieson, but could not have been possible without the great support from the people and associations from this amazing industry.
Organizers cannot say enough about the tournament’s supporters, a list of which appears below.
Brad Grant
Glen Smith (Merit Insurance)
Dr. John Hennessy
McKee-Pownall Veterinary
Woodbine Entertainment
OHHA
COSA
Clinton Raceway
Grand River Raceway
Western Fair District
Flamboro Downs
OLG
Stephanie Wade (‘Over the Rainbow’ photography on Facebook, which was the tournament’s first and official photographer)
Also, tournament organizers would like to thank the dedicated coaches who took great pride in selecting their teams at the draft.
Congratulations to TheStable.ca , the 2018 Horsemen's Hockey Tournament Champions.
(With files from the Horsemen's Hockey Tournament)