Red Wings post convincing tournament victories

The Mite Red Wings brought their "A" game over the border this past weekend in convincing back-to-back wins at the Burlington/Lorne Park Tournament.

On Saturday, the Wings blasted off to a 7-0 pasting of the Court Group Hornets. Led by a 17-save performance by goaltender Ryan O'Donnell, the Wings were lifted by an explosive offensive effort paced by Josh Knauf's four goals.

Equally impressive was Connor Wagner's two-goal performance to lead the Wings to its first win in international play. Right winger Brendan Condren added to the mix by contributing two assists, the second of which followed a strong off-wing rush to the net and shot by Condren, with the rebound cashed in by forward Robbie Marshall.

The balanced scoring was further reflected in assists offered by Joel Giambra, Cameron McMahon and Brendan DesRosiers.

The start-to-finish team effort was also shown in stellar play by McKenna Rushford, Andy Czora, Courtney Cavarello, Matt Grugnale, John Falvey, Matt Terrance and Connor Tanevich.

On Sunday, the Wings continued their winning ways by cruising to a 5-1 romp over the Court Group Constables to round out the tournament.

The defensive tandem of Condren and DesRosiers repeatedly snuffed out offensive opportunities and each ended the game with a plus- four.

O'Donnell showed no signs of wear between the pipes as the defensive game was also shown by the exemplary play of Rushford.

Knauf continued his offensive blitz by notching two goals and an assist.

After falling to a 1-0 deficit, the Wings flew back when Tanevich converted a feed from Knauf and put it into the gaping net to tie the game at 1-1.

The Wings, despite a late curfew, directional difficulties and an early game, then took it to their cross-border rivals and finished the game with four unanswered goals to send the team and their families back home victorious.

The Wings went up 3-1 when Giambra banged home the puck with an assist from Wagner. Cavarello, an alternate captain, chipped in with an assist to help the Wings.

Wagner finished the scoring with a goal in the third period on an assist from Marshall. Again, the team's results were supported by great play by Matt Grugnal, Cameron McMahon and Czora.

The Wings will seek to continue the momentum next week when they face the White Sabres in league play.