Cudas 14Us crowned Floorbusters Memorial Tournament champions

By Lethbridge Herald on May 30, 2022.

Lethbridge Cudas 14U team beat the Calgary Hornets 14U B1 team 12-8 to win that level’s side of the Floorbusters Memorial Tournament on Sunday at Henderson Arena.

By Justin Seward

Lethbridge Herald

Three Lethbridge Lacrosse Association Cudas teams appeared in their respective division gold medal games on Sunday as hosts of the Floorbusters Memorial Tournament.

But it was the  14U Cudas who prevailed in winning  their final game after defeating the Calgary Hornets 14U B1 team 12-8 at Henderson  Arena on Sunday afternoon.

With the win, the team remains a perfect 10-0 to start the season with the combination of tournament and regular season wins.

“I definitely just wanted to get lots of development for some of the players that might not have seen a whole ton of floor time at the beginning of the season and then as well just start to put together some tournament strategies,” said Cody Firth, Cudas 14U head coach.

“We only play two game on most weekends — every tournament you’re going to play four to five — and you really have to put a stretch of good games together in a row. If you lose a game early in a tournament, it makes it  really tough to come back and win a gold medal game. So, if we can put together five wins in a row or four wins in a row in three days, it just a hell of a weekend.”

He said the game was a nailbiter to start with.

“I think I gave some good structure going into the third period and then we potted probably four goals and had a little bit of that lead padded like we had at the beginning of the first and I think it just came to compete level,” he said.

The 16U Cudas took home silver after losing to the Brooks Drillers 8-1 at Labor Club Ice Centre  and the 12U lost to Taber 8-2 in their final at Nicolas Sheran Arena.