The Chatham-Kent Cyclones Under-13 AAA boys hockey team is back home after winning bronze at the AAA Regional Championship.
The season ending tournament was held in Sudbury last week with the Cyclones beating the Ottawa Valley Titans 9-4 in the third place match.
"The goal was to go there and win gold, but when your at an all-Ontario (tournament) there's a lot of good teams and everyone is there for a reason," said Kyle Hope, the Cyclones' head coach.
The team started the tournament with a 9-0 win against the Thunder Bay Kings. The offense wasn't able to keep the momentum going in the second game as they lost 2-0 to the Barrie Jr Colts.
The Cyclones would win their next three games before losing to the Titans in the last group stage match.
This was good enough to make the semi-finals and force a rematch against the North Bay Trappers. The Cyclones won the first game 5-2, however, North Bay got the better of them in the semis, winning 4-1.
"It's tough to beat a good team twice," added Hope.
Despite the loss, the players were able to compose themselves and beat the Titans in the bronze medal game. Hope explained the Chatham-Kent community helped the boys get their drive back.
"There was 50, 60 messages to the team account of 'go get that bronze' and 'bring it back home to the community,'" said Hope.
The team will officially end its season with a banquet later this week.
For Hope, it'll be an end to one of the best seasons a CK Under-13 team might ever have. This is because they went undefeated in Alliance, beat nine of the top 10 U.S. teams, ranked 8th best in Canada, and came home from the Regional Championship with a medal.
"I don't think this will be done again," he said.
