Already down a couple of bodies with illness and injuries, the Sudbury U11 Storm boys were ill-equipped to deal with overtime games at the St Catharines CYO Robert F. Miller Annual Tournament last weekend.

But as long as that was the hand they were dealt, the locals might as well have made the best of it.

Going beyond the final buzzer in picking up victories in their first two round robin games, the Storm battled their way right through to the championship final before falling just short of emerging triumphant in back to back events.

Much like the final in Newmarket last month, the northern lads had to overcome both a half-time deficit (21-12) and a buzzer-beater to top it off in their opening encounter, drawing on their previous experience in earning a 30-28 win over the Vaughan Panthers.

Another somewhat sluggish start in game two, though simply not having the ball drop was as much the culprit as anything else as Sudbury rebounded from a nine point half-time deficit to halt the Collingwood Trailblazers 25-21 and ensure a first place finish in their pool.

This allowed coach Martin Nadeau and company to work on some tweaks and such in game three, a comfortable 41-14 win over the host St Catharines Rebels. "The ball was a little sticky," said Nadeau. "Because we weren't moving the ball well as a team, we forced up some bad shots."

A very entertaining final would ensue as the Cambridge Centaurs edged the Storm 35-31, throwing a 2-3 zone at the Sudbury crew that took a little while to adjust. "Regardless, we need to pass well and create some openings to get good quality shots," summarized Nadeau.

The Sudbury U11 Storm roster on hand for this competition was comprised of Jack Beyes, Mason Kamuntu, Hudson Blais, Rohan Saidi-Smith, Mérick Nadeau, Tejada Gieselman, Kaesen Adair, Finn Connolly, head coach Martin Nadeau and assistant coach Clare Gieselman.