The Canadian Men’s Junior National Target 2017 Team stormed back from a 0 – 1 deficit to score 9 unanswered goals in their final match against the USA’s U17 men on Sunday. Canada remained undefeated throughout the series, securing three consecutive victories in the team’s international debut.
Fuelled by a home crowd, Team USA had a strong start in Sunday’s match scoring within the first five minutes. Canada’s Amrit Sidhu (Abbotsford, BC) responded quickly evening the score at the nine minute mark. His enthusiasm sparked a strong offensive attack and Canada hit the US circle in waves. Amrit Sidhu scored his second goal off a perfect tip from Harbir Sidhu’s (Victoria, BC) penalty corner shot to take the lead.
The Canadian midfield took advantage of US turnovers, forcing the ball up field where Nick Howard (Vancouver, BC) scored a field goal in the 20th minute. Amrit Sidhu added to the score, pulling a hat trick in the 25th minute and bringing Canada up 4 – 1 before half time.
The Canadian forwards began the second half stepping up their relentless forecheck. A mere two minutes in, Canada was up 6 – 1 after goals by Harbir Sidhu and Ollie Ewasechko (Calgary, AB). Balraj Panesar’s (Surrey, BC) penalty stroke in the 46th and another goal by Amrit put Canada up by 7. After a five way passing play, Rohan Chopra (Ottawa, ON) secured the ninth and final Canadian goal of the day.
The Target 2017 Men scored a total of 19 goals throughout the three match series.
“It was good to see such high-quality talent from across the country,” says Head Coach Mathias Ahrens. “The team improved from game to game and showed in the last game a fine performance leaving their USA counterparts far behind. The players will now go into their winter training, focused on improving their fitness levels. Our next international appearance will likely be in the spring.”
SERIES RESULTS
Nov 29: Canada 5 – 1 USA
Dec 1: Canada 5 – 0 USA
Dec 2: Canada 9 – 1 USA
TEAM CANADA
Harkirat Ahluwalia (Surrey, BC): Kabir Aujla (Surrey, BC): Rohan Chopra (Ottawa, ON): Olli Ewasechko (Calgary, AB): Iqwinder Gill (Surrey, BC): Parmeet Gill (Mississauga, ON): Jason Heine (Vancouver, BC): Nicolas Howard (Vancouver, BC): Joshua Kitagawa (Delta, BC): Jugraj Kalkat (Mississauga, ON): Liam Manning (Ottawa, ON): Floyd Mascarenhas (Mississauga, ON): Chris McAlpine (Richmond, BC): Balraj Panesar (Surrey, BC): Brandon Pereira (Surrey, BC): Arshjit “Amrit” Sidhu (Abbotsford, BC): Harbir Sidhu (Victoria, BC): Ganga Singh (Mississauga, ON). RESERVES: Devon Bingham (BC), Griffin Staples (BC), Tanvir Kingra (BC).
TEAM CANADA STAFF
Mathias Ahrens (Head Coach): Bill Sandhu (Assistant Coach): Sandeep Chopra (Team Manager): Jessica Kenny (Physiotherapist)
The Men’s Junior National Target 2017 Program allows the High Performance Program to identify, develop and retain talented young players from across the country to create the next generation of the Canada’s Senior National Team. The Target 2017 Program is a stepping stone to the Junior National Team Program and provides high performance coaching within a high performance environment. This team’s main targets are the Youth Olympic Qualifier in 2014, the Pan American Junior Championship in 2016 and the 2017 Junior World Cup.
