A Solid Summer Upset: Vikings Win Third GTA Crown
Sep 8, 2008
The Vikings, proudly sponsored by Viking Escapades, Salming Floorball and FloorballPro.com, upset the Solid Soldiers Floorball Squad 6-4 in the final of the Toronto Floorball League Summer Division.
The match proved to be a tight battle between this year’s TFL Elite
finalists, the Vikings and the Solid Soldiers, formerly known as TNEX.
Solid was the favorite after their undefeated season in the Summer
Division, including two wins against the Vikings. The affair brought
together a fine crop of Canadian floorball talent, including Team
Canada player Randy S’ad and up and coming Under-19 superstars Joel
Inouye and Andrew Radjenovic from the Solid Soldiers and flamboyant
U-19 scoring threat Colin Munro and Team Canada goaltender Sam Garrison
from the Vikings.
The match itself was a colossal encounter between arguably the two best
clubs in Ontario floorball. The first period was a tight defensive
battle, with hardly any scoring chances. The Vikings took the lead just
over six minutes into the game with a goal from Henry Korhonen assisted
by Juha Mikkola.
The Solid Soldiers bounced back in the second period with goals by
Andre Riolo and Eli Keleher and seemed to take the game into control.
The Vikings were having trouble getting to the ball and the team
resorted to taking penalties that allowed the Soldiers to dominate play.
The third period proved to be a legendary battle, with the Solid
Soldiers scoring first to nearly put the game away for good. But Colin
Munro, thanks to a flashy individual effort, brought the Vikings back
into the game and sparked his teammates. The Vikings tied up the game,
only to see the game slip away again with less than three minutes
remaining when Andrew Radjenovic scored on a long-range shot.
Amazingly, the Vikings did not back down and tied up the game with a
great shot from Andrew Kieran and just 20 seconds later, Eric
Kloosterman scored the eventual game winner by deflecting in a hard
pass in the slot. Colin Munro finished off the scoring with an empty
net goal to seal the Summer Division Championship for the Vikings.
Henry Korhonen was named the first star of the game.
With the come from behind victory the
Vikings took the Toronto Floorball League double by winning both the
Summer League Championship and the TFL Elite Championship in 2008,
solidifying them as the bona fide champions of the Toronto floorball
scene. In addition, the Vikings were triumphant at the Newmarket Open
tournament earlier in the year and finished fourth at the Canada Cup,
tying the best performance of any Ontario team.
In the night's other match-ups, Big Ben’s Bulldogs beat the Free Agents to win third while iMove/TPH edged GWB for fifth place.
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