One of seven local teams to secure a berth at International Silver Stick tournament play this month, the Copper Cliff Minor Peewee "AA" Redmen fell victim to a very tough draw, falling just short of cracking the final four.

With Adam Urso, Cole Dubowsky, Carter Carrière, Nathanael Coon Come and Jacob Plante handling the scoring, netminder Zach Neron clearly on top of his game, and Cale Prpic and Carter Roney in stellar form on defense, the Copper Cliff crew broke the ice with a big 5-2 win over the host Newmarket Redmen (ranked 12th in the province).

Though they could not have faced any stiffer competition on Friday, the local Redmen more than held their own, dropping a 2-0 decision to the Stratford Warriors (ranked #2 in Ontario), as Sarah McKechnie recorded no less than 41 saves, while defensive pillars Nicholas Gauthier and Max Arnold looked to keep the shooting lanes as clear as possible for their puck-stopping teammate.

Just a few hours later, the northern squad were right back at it, facing the province's top team (according to My Hockey Rankings), the Burlington Cougars. Spotting their opponents a 3-0 first period lead, the Redmen battled back to narrow the gap to 5-3, before Burlington pulled away late, securing a 7-3 victory.

Cole Dubowsky, Riley Graffi and Ethan Oliver bulged the twine in a losing cause. Still no softies for coach Cecil Burton and company as their cross-over game pitted Copper Cliff against the London Jr Knights, ranked third in the province at the time (currently fourth).

Despite another outstanding performance from McKechnie, Copper Cliff would settle for a 3-3 tie with the Jr Knights, as Ethan Burton, Yanick Savard and Nathanael Coon Come all found the back of the net, the latter converting on a penalty shot.

With a record of 1-2-1, the Redmen finished one point back of Burlington for second place in their pool, with the Cougars and the Stratford Warriors eventually meeting up in the final, with Burlington capturing gold thanks to a 2-1 victory.

The 2018-2019 edition of the Copper Cliff Minor Peewee "AA" Redmen features Adam Urso, Cale Prpic, Carter Roney, Carter Carriere, Cole Dubowsky, Daniel Crossthwaite, Ethan Burton, Ethan Oliver, Jacob Plante, Max Arnold, Nathanael Coon Come, Nicholas Labrecque, Nicholas Gauthier, Riley Graffi, Sarah McKechnie, Yannick Savard, Zach Neron, coaches Cecil Burton, Alain Gauthier and Max Veilleux, and trainer Justin Oliver.