Round-robin action continued
Thursday at the 2013 OHL Cup Showcase Tournament at the Hershey Centre
in Mississauga with eight games on the schedule.
The Barrie Jr. Colts and Elgin Middlesex Chiefs lead Divisions 1 and 4 respectively with 3-0-0 records. The Toronto Jr. Canadiens lead Division 3 with a 2-0-0 record, while the Halton Hurricanes and York Simcoe Express are tied for first in Division 2 with unbeaten records of 2-0-1.
The Colts JD Falconer (6G 2A) and the Chiefs' Travis Konecny (2G 6A) are tied for the tournament lead with eight points in three games.
Day 3 Results:
Game 28: Elgin-Middlesex Chiefs 3 (3-0-0) vs. Whitby Wildcats 2 (1-2-0)
By Rob Benneian
The Elgin Middlesex Chiefs held off the hard-charging Whitby Wildcats, winning 3-2 to remain undefeated.
The game was hotly contested from the opening whistle. Despite coming in to the tournament ranked third out of the 20 teams, the Chiefs are embracing an underdog mentality.
“These kids are all from small towns and they come in to a big city like this trying to prove themselves,” said Chiefs head coach Darren Kelly. “We set our sights on this tournament all year. The kids are raring to go, they want to beat the big dogs.”
Captain Travis Konecny and Chiefs leading goal-scorer Lawson Crouse were impressive again, as each scored and Konecny added an assist.
“Our penalty kill came through for us, faceoffs were huge and our goaltender (Justin) Fazio came through for us,” Kelly said.
Fazio was fantastic for the Chiefs, especially in the third period with Whitby pressing for the tying goal. Matthew Carroll and Bryce Yetman solved him less than two minutes apart in the middle frame to tie the score at two, but he kept everything else out and Carson Brookshaw’s third period power play marker stood as the difference.
The Chiefs are one of just two teams, the other being the Barrie Jr. Colts, to show a perfect 3-0 record through the tournaments first three days. In doing so, both have clinched a playoff berth. The Wildcats need to beat Southern Tier and hope for two Red Wings victories tomorrow to force a three-way tie for the final playoff spot in Division 4.
Game Summary
Game 27: TPH Thunder 5 (2-1-0) vs. Southern Tier Admirals 3 (1-2-0)
Mark McKelvie
The TPH Thunder grinded out their second victory of the tournament defeating the Southern Tier Admirals 5-3.
The Thunder jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first period and took that into the second period. The Admirals were able to get two past Thunder goaltender Garrett Forrest in the second to get to within a goal but Dominic Dockery scored a powerplay goal at the 12:50 mark to put the Thunder up by two heading for the third.
Starting the third on the powerplay, the Admirals got back to within a goal when Jared Marino snapped one home. The Admirals though couldn’t get any closer and Hayden Winch sealed the deal with an empty net goal to give the Thunder a 5-3 victory.
Thunder forward Logan Orem chipped in with an assist and took home player of the game honours for the Thunder. Orem said his team played well in all areas of the game.
“I thought our penalty kill was good and I thought we drove the net well. We worked it down low and we buried our chances.” said Orem.
Admirals forward Christian DiFelice was named their player of the game.
The Thunder now have a record of 2-1, while the Admirals drop to 1-2 with both teams final round robin game coming up on Friday.
Game Summary
Game 26: Oakville Rangers 8 (1-1-1) vs. Thunder Bay Kings 0 (1-2-0)
By Rob Benneian
The OMHA champion Oakville Rangers have overcome a slow start to their tournament, tying the Huron Perth Lakers and losing to the Central Ontario Wolves, by defeating the Thunder Bay Kings 8-0.
Zack Dybowski led the way offensively for Oakville, scoring twice and adding an assist. Defenceman Troy Henley collected three assists and four points and Cody Petawabano had three points. Goaltender Brendan McGlynn recorded the shutout and has surrendered just two goals in compiling a 1-0-1 record thus far.
The win allows the Rangers to leapfrog three teams in the standings, moving them from the basement of Division 3 to second place through three days of action.
The Huron Perth Lakers also won today, meaning the two teams both trail the Toronto Jr. Canadiens by a point. However, the Rangers are ahead of the Lakers in goal differential.
“We knew going in to this (tournament) that game against the Jr. Canadiens was going to be a huge one,” said Rangers head coach Duncan Harvey. “We’re excited about the opportunity to play them tomorrow and we’re just happy that after a slow start yesterday we weren’t completely out of it.”
A win against the Jr. Canadiens would assure the Rangers of a playoff spot, while a loss would mean the Lakers would also need to lose to Toronto for Oakville to sneak in the backdoor.
Game Summary
Game 25: Huron Perth Lakers 5 (1-1-1) vs. Central Ontario Wolves 4 (1-2-0)
By Mark McKelvie
The Central Ontario Wolves came with everything they had in the final minute but couldn’t find the equalizer in a 5-4 loss to the Huron Perth Lakers.
The Lakers and Wolves were tied 3-3 at the start of the third but the Lakers scored two quick goals from Jamie Huber and Kenny Huether to quickly put the Wolves in a hole.
Dylan Pollard got his second of the tournament with 6:35 remaining in the third to get the Wolves within one.
Central Ontario applied full pressure in the final minute but Huron Perth came up with some key blocked shots and goaltender Ben Larder made a few huge saves to hold on for the victory.
Huron Perth head coach Dave Schlitt after the game was thrilled with his team’s victory.
“We watched them (Central Ontario) play yesterday and they are just a really hardworking team that moves the puck well.” said Schlitt. “Our focus was to get back to the way we played yesterday morning (against Oakville)”
The Lakers rebounded for the win after being shutout by the Thunder Bay Kings last night.
The Lakers now have three points in three games with a record of 1-1-1, while Central Ontario now has a record of 1-2.
Game Summary
Game 24: York Simcoe Express 4 (2-0-1) vs. Ottawa Senators 1 (1-2-0)
By Rob Benneian
The York Simcoe Express eliminated the Ottawa Senators from playoff contention with a 4-1 victory.
In doing so, they made Division 2 a three-dog race between themselves, the Mississauga Rebels and the Halton Hurricanes.
Halton and the York Simcoe are tied for the division lead with 5 points in three games, while the Rebels have earned two in a pair of contests.
Brandon Zullo opened the scoring early in the contest for the Senators, but the Express responded with four unanswered goals, including two off the stick of Graham Knott. The York Simcoe forward now has four points in the tournament.
“We started off with a bad back check (and) it cost us a goal but the next 44 minutes we were better and that was nice to see,” said Express head coach Thomas Milne.
Ottawa will have a chance to play spoiler tomorrow as a victory over the Rebels would eliminate Mississauga from playoff contention.
Game Summary
Game 23: Barrie Jr. Colts 7 (3-0-0) vs. Elite Hockey 4 (0-2-1)
By Mark McKelvie
JD Falconer scored three goals and picked up two assists to help his Barrie Colts improve to 3-0 in round robin play.
The Colts got out to a 3-0 lead over Elite Hockey by the 8:10 mark of the first period with goals from Austin Kelly, Falconer and Rob Graham. Elite Hockey would cut the lead to 3-1 but Barrie would grab a 4-1 lead as Falconer scored his second of the game. Elite would get a late goal to cut the deficit down to two heading to the second.
Elite Hockey got to within one in the second period but Barrie’s offensive continued to impress chipping in two more goals including Falconer’s picking up his hat trick goal and sixth of the tournament. Elite Hockey’s Jeremy Bracco scored his fifth of the tournament near the end of the second to send things into the third with Barrie up 6-4.
Falconer would set up Austin Gerhart for the lone goal of the third period and to give the Colts a 7-4 victory.
“He has such a great release,” said Colts head coach John MacArthur about Falconer following the game. “When our big line is contributing the other lines feed off of it.”
Barrie now has three wins in three games and sits first in their division. Elite Hockey has now lost two games in a row after opening the tournament with a draw.
Elite Hockey’s next game is against the Toronto Marlboros Friday morning, while Barrie’s next action is Friday afternoon against the NOHA All-Stars.
Game Summary
Game 22: NOHA All-Stars 2 (2-1-0) vs. Eastern Ontario Wild 0 (0-2-1)
By Rob Benneian
The NOHA Stars defeated the Eastern Ontario Wild 2-0 in one of the more physically spirited tilts of the tournament.
NOHA opened the scoring early on a goal by Owen Fransen and increased their lead six seconds into the third period on a two-man advantage.
The game was played start to finish with a high level of intensity, something Stars head coach Craig Duncanson said has built up over the course of the season.
“These kids all play against each other all year,” Duncanson said. “The game has a lot of meaning, the kids played intense. They’re spirited kids playing the game the right way.”
The NOHA win allows them to keep pace with the Barrie Jr. Colts, who they will play tomorrow in a game that will likely go a long way in determining the top seed in Division 1.
Game Summary
Game 21: Halton Hurricanes 5 (2-0-1) vs. Waterloo Wolves 3 (0-3-0)
By Mark McKelvie
The Halton Hurricanes picked up their second win of the tournament defeating the Waterloo Wolves 5-3.
The Hurricanes came into their contest with the Wolves Thursday morning having yet to lose a game after a win and a tie on Wednesday. The Hurricanes however, would fall behind in the first after Jordan Hoekstra tipped in a Tayler Trachsel point shot on the powerplay to put the Wolves in front.
Hurricanes forward Matthew Kreis would answer back with an amazing individual effort on the powerplay to tie things up late in the first.
In the second, the teams would combine for five goals. Chris Klack scored on a nice set up from Matthew Kreis for Halton on the powerplay. Waterloo’s Gary Mantz tied things up with a shorthanded goal but only 14 seconds later Josh Dickinson would regain the lead for Halton. Ben Playfair scored off a rebound to tie things up once again but it wouldn’t take Halton long to once again move ahead of the Wolves. Aleks Rapp scored from the top of the crease to give Halton the lead with 1:05 remaining in the second.
The Hurricanes would get an insurance marker from Chris Klack who scored his second of the game to start the third and give the Hurricanes a 5-3 lead that they would hold onto to pick up the victory.
“We played a team game and we made sure to capitalize on all of our chances,” said Hurricanes forward Matthew Kreis who had a goal and two assists. “Looking ahead looks good and right now we are playing great hockey.”
Cameron Radford got his second victory in goal for the Hurricanes.
Halton now is the first team in their division to two wins, while Waterloo is 0-3 after three games and will have one last chance to get a tally in the win column on Friday.
Game Summary
The Barrie Jr. Colts and Elgin Middlesex Chiefs lead Divisions 1 and 4 respectively with 3-0-0 records. The Toronto Jr. Canadiens lead Division 3 with a 2-0-0 record, while the Halton Hurricanes and York Simcoe Express are tied for first in Division 2 with unbeaten records of 2-0-1.
The Colts JD Falconer (6G 2A) and the Chiefs' Travis Konecny (2G 6A) are tied for the tournament lead with eight points in three games.
Day 3 Results:
Game 28: Elgin-Middlesex Chiefs 3 (3-0-0) vs. Whitby Wildcats 2 (1-2-0)
By Rob Benneian
The Elgin Middlesex Chiefs held off the hard-charging Whitby Wildcats, winning 3-2 to remain undefeated.
The game was hotly contested from the opening whistle. Despite coming in to the tournament ranked third out of the 20 teams, the Chiefs are embracing an underdog mentality.
“These kids are all from small towns and they come in to a big city like this trying to prove themselves,” said Chiefs head coach Darren Kelly. “We set our sights on this tournament all year. The kids are raring to go, they want to beat the big dogs.”
Captain Travis Konecny and Chiefs leading goal-scorer Lawson Crouse were impressive again, as each scored and Konecny added an assist.
“Our penalty kill came through for us, faceoffs were huge and our goaltender (Justin) Fazio came through for us,” Kelly said.
Fazio was fantastic for the Chiefs, especially in the third period with Whitby pressing for the tying goal. Matthew Carroll and Bryce Yetman solved him less than two minutes apart in the middle frame to tie the score at two, but he kept everything else out and Carson Brookshaw’s third period power play marker stood as the difference.
The Chiefs are one of just two teams, the other being the Barrie Jr. Colts, to show a perfect 3-0 record through the tournaments first three days. In doing so, both have clinched a playoff berth. The Wildcats need to beat Southern Tier and hope for two Red Wings victories tomorrow to force a three-way tie for the final playoff spot in Division 4.
Game Summary
Game 27: TPH Thunder 5 (2-1-0) vs. Southern Tier Admirals 3 (1-2-0)
Mark McKelvie
The TPH Thunder grinded out their second victory of the tournament defeating the Southern Tier Admirals 5-3.
The Thunder jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first period and took that into the second period. The Admirals were able to get two past Thunder goaltender Garrett Forrest in the second to get to within a goal but Dominic Dockery scored a powerplay goal at the 12:50 mark to put the Thunder up by two heading for the third.
Starting the third on the powerplay, the Admirals got back to within a goal when Jared Marino snapped one home. The Admirals though couldn’t get any closer and Hayden Winch sealed the deal with an empty net goal to give the Thunder a 5-3 victory.
Thunder forward Logan Orem chipped in with an assist and took home player of the game honours for the Thunder. Orem said his team played well in all areas of the game.
“I thought our penalty kill was good and I thought we drove the net well. We worked it down low and we buried our chances.” said Orem.
Admirals forward Christian DiFelice was named their player of the game.
The Thunder now have a record of 2-1, while the Admirals drop to 1-2 with both teams final round robin game coming up on Friday.
Game Summary
Game 26: Oakville Rangers 8 (1-1-1) vs. Thunder Bay Kings 0 (1-2-0)
By Rob Benneian
The OMHA champion Oakville Rangers have overcome a slow start to their tournament, tying the Huron Perth Lakers and losing to the Central Ontario Wolves, by defeating the Thunder Bay Kings 8-0.
Zack Dybowski led the way offensively for Oakville, scoring twice and adding an assist. Defenceman Troy Henley collected three assists and four points and Cody Petawabano had three points. Goaltender Brendan McGlynn recorded the shutout and has surrendered just two goals in compiling a 1-0-1 record thus far.
The win allows the Rangers to leapfrog three teams in the standings, moving them from the basement of Division 3 to second place through three days of action.
The Huron Perth Lakers also won today, meaning the two teams both trail the Toronto Jr. Canadiens by a point. However, the Rangers are ahead of the Lakers in goal differential.
“We knew going in to this (tournament) that game against the Jr. Canadiens was going to be a huge one,” said Rangers head coach Duncan Harvey. “We’re excited about the opportunity to play them tomorrow and we’re just happy that after a slow start yesterday we weren’t completely out of it.”
A win against the Jr. Canadiens would assure the Rangers of a playoff spot, while a loss would mean the Lakers would also need to lose to Toronto for Oakville to sneak in the backdoor.
Game Summary
Game 25: Huron Perth Lakers 5 (1-1-1) vs. Central Ontario Wolves 4 (1-2-0)
By Mark McKelvie
The Central Ontario Wolves came with everything they had in the final minute but couldn’t find the equalizer in a 5-4 loss to the Huron Perth Lakers.
The Lakers and Wolves were tied 3-3 at the start of the third but the Lakers scored two quick goals from Jamie Huber and Kenny Huether to quickly put the Wolves in a hole.
Dylan Pollard got his second of the tournament with 6:35 remaining in the third to get the Wolves within one.
Central Ontario applied full pressure in the final minute but Huron Perth came up with some key blocked shots and goaltender Ben Larder made a few huge saves to hold on for the victory.
Huron Perth head coach Dave Schlitt after the game was thrilled with his team’s victory.
“We watched them (Central Ontario) play yesterday and they are just a really hardworking team that moves the puck well.” said Schlitt. “Our focus was to get back to the way we played yesterday morning (against Oakville)”
The Lakers rebounded for the win after being shutout by the Thunder Bay Kings last night.
The Lakers now have three points in three games with a record of 1-1-1, while Central Ontario now has a record of 1-2.
Game Summary
Game 24: York Simcoe Express 4 (2-0-1) vs. Ottawa Senators 1 (1-2-0)
By Rob Benneian
The York Simcoe Express eliminated the Ottawa Senators from playoff contention with a 4-1 victory.
In doing so, they made Division 2 a three-dog race between themselves, the Mississauga Rebels and the Halton Hurricanes.
Halton and the York Simcoe are tied for the division lead with 5 points in three games, while the Rebels have earned two in a pair of contests.
Brandon Zullo opened the scoring early in the contest for the Senators, but the Express responded with four unanswered goals, including two off the stick of Graham Knott. The York Simcoe forward now has four points in the tournament.
“We started off with a bad back check (and) it cost us a goal but the next 44 minutes we were better and that was nice to see,” said Express head coach Thomas Milne.
Ottawa will have a chance to play spoiler tomorrow as a victory over the Rebels would eliminate Mississauga from playoff contention.
Game Summary
Game 23: Barrie Jr. Colts 7 (3-0-0) vs. Elite Hockey 4 (0-2-1)
By Mark McKelvie
JD Falconer scored three goals and picked up two assists to help his Barrie Colts improve to 3-0 in round robin play.
The Colts got out to a 3-0 lead over Elite Hockey by the 8:10 mark of the first period with goals from Austin Kelly, Falconer and Rob Graham. Elite Hockey would cut the lead to 3-1 but Barrie would grab a 4-1 lead as Falconer scored his second of the game. Elite would get a late goal to cut the deficit down to two heading to the second.
Elite Hockey got to within one in the second period but Barrie’s offensive continued to impress chipping in two more goals including Falconer’s picking up his hat trick goal and sixth of the tournament. Elite Hockey’s Jeremy Bracco scored his fifth of the tournament near the end of the second to send things into the third with Barrie up 6-4.
Falconer would set up Austin Gerhart for the lone goal of the third period and to give the Colts a 7-4 victory.
“He has such a great release,” said Colts head coach John MacArthur about Falconer following the game. “When our big line is contributing the other lines feed off of it.”
Barrie now has three wins in three games and sits first in their division. Elite Hockey has now lost two games in a row after opening the tournament with a draw.
Elite Hockey’s next game is against the Toronto Marlboros Friday morning, while Barrie’s next action is Friday afternoon against the NOHA All-Stars.
Game Summary
Game 22: NOHA All-Stars 2 (2-1-0) vs. Eastern Ontario Wild 0 (0-2-1)
By Rob Benneian
The NOHA Stars defeated the Eastern Ontario Wild 2-0 in one of the more physically spirited tilts of the tournament.
NOHA opened the scoring early on a goal by Owen Fransen and increased their lead six seconds into the third period on a two-man advantage.
The game was played start to finish with a high level of intensity, something Stars head coach Craig Duncanson said has built up over the course of the season.
“These kids all play against each other all year,” Duncanson said. “The game has a lot of meaning, the kids played intense. They’re spirited kids playing the game the right way.”
The NOHA win allows them to keep pace with the Barrie Jr. Colts, who they will play tomorrow in a game that will likely go a long way in determining the top seed in Division 1.
Game Summary
Game 21: Halton Hurricanes 5 (2-0-1) vs. Waterloo Wolves 3 (0-3-0)
By Mark McKelvie
The Halton Hurricanes picked up their second win of the tournament defeating the Waterloo Wolves 5-3.
The Hurricanes came into their contest with the Wolves Thursday morning having yet to lose a game after a win and a tie on Wednesday. The Hurricanes however, would fall behind in the first after Jordan Hoekstra tipped in a Tayler Trachsel point shot on the powerplay to put the Wolves in front.
Hurricanes forward Matthew Kreis would answer back with an amazing individual effort on the powerplay to tie things up late in the first.
In the second, the teams would combine for five goals. Chris Klack scored on a nice set up from Matthew Kreis for Halton on the powerplay. Waterloo’s Gary Mantz tied things up with a shorthanded goal but only 14 seconds later Josh Dickinson would regain the lead for Halton. Ben Playfair scored off a rebound to tie things up once again but it wouldn’t take Halton long to once again move ahead of the Wolves. Aleks Rapp scored from the top of the crease to give Halton the lead with 1:05 remaining in the second.
The Hurricanes would get an insurance marker from Chris Klack who scored his second of the game to start the third and give the Hurricanes a 5-3 lead that they would hold onto to pick up the victory.
“We played a team game and we made sure to capitalize on all of our chances,” said Hurricanes forward Matthew Kreis who had a goal and two assists. “Looking ahead looks good and right now we are playing great hockey.”
Cameron Radford got his second victory in goal for the Hurricanes.
Halton now is the first team in their division to two wins, while Waterloo is 0-3 after three games and will have one last chance to get a tally in the win column on Friday.
Game Summary
(Nathan can be reached at nathanfournier@mainehockeyjournal.com)
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