London Bandit dream team wins nine championships in one season

After a dream season — both on and off the ice — the Peewee London Bandits are the winners of the prestigious Ontario Alliance MD Championships. 

As the 12- and 13-year-old players celebrated their undefeated tournament run by shotgunning pop in the dressing room, parents and coaches lamented the end of an extraordinary year for a group of boys who became fierce friends the day their team was formed.

The 2-0 win in St. Catharines against their hometown rivals — the West London Hawks — gave the Bandits an unprecedented record of nine championships this season. They won their regular season and playoffs in London and seven tournaments, including the Wayne Gretzky International in Brantford, and the International Silver Stick Competition in St. Catharines. 

“I feel fantastic,” said coach Jamie (Boomer) Boyce, grinning outside the dressing room alongside his wife Clare. 

“I’ve never won nine. I’ve won eight . . . but never nine,” said Boyce, who’s built a reputation in London’s minor hockey world for booking as much ice time as possible, running tough practices and for earning the respect of players and their parents in the process.

With Clare doing much of the organizing behind the scenes, Boomer Boyce and his coaching team — veteran minor hockey coaches Greg Schaus, Art Putzer and Boyce’s 22-year-old son Scotty — developed the Bandits into a force to be reckoned with on the ice.

And they played with “tremendous class and sportsmanship,” according to the coach of an opposing team who wrote a note to the Bandit board, praising the Bandit players and coaching staff after a tough game.

To Boyce, the most remarkable aspect of the 78-6-5 season unfolded off the ice. 

“This is the greatest group of kids. I’ve never seen anything like it. They gelled right from the first exhibition game. We haven’t had one issue all year,” he said after Sunday’s final game at Seymour Hannah Sports and Entertainment Centre. “Not with the kids, not with the parents . . . No bullying, no fighting. Nothing,” he said.

“Usually you have some issues,” he said. “But these kids, I can leave them in the dressing room knowing the only thing I’m going to walk back into is these guys shotgunning pop.”

Moments earlier, when he walked onto the ice after the final buzzer, tears streamed down Boyce’s cheeks as his players nearly tackled him with a full team bear hug. 

“He tells you what you did wrong, but he always tells you what you did right, too,” said one forward after the game. “He makes us sweat every practice by making us skate hard, but we actually want to work hard, and that’s probably one of the reasons we won nine championships.

At a recent practice, Boyce made obstacle runs on the ice to recreate a viral video of a Russian boy skating around, hopping over and belly-sliding under objects while stick handling. 

It was a fun hour that ended with red faces and a lot of sweat. But that was to be expected. Before the season even began last fall, Boyce warned his players they’d work hard, but promised they’d come off the ice smiling. 

Every Bandit was doing just that Sunday, but by the time they slowly made their way out of the arena, the smiles had slipped off a few faces.

“I’m sad,” said one defenceman. “Sad it’s over.”