Major Midgets open with a win
Four Steve Richey tourney games, opening ceremony at the Memorial Centre starting at 4:15 p.m. today
The Peterborough Minor Hockey Council’s annual Steve Richey Tournament of Champions began Thursday and will continue through until championship games on Sunday. The Peterborough Rico’s Foods Major Midget AAA Petes got off to a winning start with a 2-0 shutout win over the Brampton Major Midget 45’s on Thursday night.
The Major Midget Petes face the Ontario Hockey Academy at 9:45 a.m. Friday at the Kinsmen
Civic Centre and then face the Kapuskasing Major Midget AAA Flyers at 4:15 p.m. at the Memorial Centre.
Meanwhile the Peterborough Minor Midget AAA Petes face the Halton Hurricanes at 11:45 a.m. Friday at the Evinrude Centre and then the Lambton Minor Midget Jr. Sting at 6 p.m. at the Memorial Centre.
The tournament features 30 midget and 15 minor midget teams playing games at the Evinrude, Kinsmen, Memorial Centre and Norwood arenas.
“Peterborough will host some of the top minor midget and major midget teams this weekend,” stated Mike Martone, president of the PMHC.
“Over the past six years alone, more than 250 players that have participated in this tournament were drafted to the OHL. Many others have accepted scholarships to NCAA schools.”
The Memorial Centre hosts Minor Hockey Night in Peterborough on Friday with four tourney games starting at 4:15 p.m. with the major midget game, followed by an opening ceremony at 5:45 p.m., the Peterborough-Lambton minor midget game from 6 to 7:45 p.m., the Brantford Minor Midget 99’ers against the Sudbury Minor Midget Wolves from 7:45 to 9:30 p.m. and the North Bay Minor Midget Trappers versus the Whitby Minor Midget Wildcats from 9:30 to 11:15 p.m.
The midget tournament was renamed in 2018 in honour of Steve Richey, an OHL Peterborough Petes scout, coach and mentor who was a goalie for the OHL’s Kingston Canadians and London Knights.
He died of a heart attack at age 54 on April 13, 2018.