Panthers suffer first loss at OHL Cup
Local squad won wild-card entry to Minor Midget Triple A tournament
The Sun County Panthers lost for the first time at the OHL Cup on Thursday.
The team was playing its third game in three days after opening the competition with a wild-card win on Tuesday over the Toronto Titans to get into the main draw of the tournament and then beating the Cambridge Hawks on Wednesday.
On Thursday, the Panthers yielded the game’s first four goals and eventually fell 5-2 to Elite Hockey Group at Scotiabank Pond in North York. Aleksa Babic and Jake Eaton scored single goals for the Panthers, while goalie Kagan DohertyAwram made 33 saves.
Sun County (1-1) wraps up pool play on Friday against the Guelph Gryphons (1-2) and the Toronto Marlboros (2-0).
OHL COACHES’ POLL
Goalie Mike DiPietro and forward Luke Boka were the only two members of the Windsor Spitfires recognized on Thursday when the OHL released its annual coaches’ poll results, which feature 20 categories.
DiPietro was ranked as the best puck-handling goaltender in the Western Conference and the thirdbest shootout goalie in the conference.
Boka was named the conference’s best shot blocker and tied for third for best defensive forward.
WATSON EYES GOLD
Kingsville’s Corbin Watson is headed to the gold-medal game after Canada’s Paralympic hockey team blanked Korea 7-0 on Thursday in semifinal play at the Paralympic Winter Games in South Korea.
The 31-year-old Watson needed to make just one save in two periods of work against Korea with Dominic Larocque playing the final period and facing just a single shot. Canada is 4-0 at the event and has outscored its opponents 42-0 while allowing just 13 shots. The Canadians will face the unbeaten United States (4-0) in Saturday’s final.
LANCERS MOATE HONOURED
University of Windsor Lancers third-year middle blocker John Moates was named a U Sports second-team all-Canadian in men’s volleyball on Thursday. Moate, who was a first-team OUA all-star, led the conference with an average of 1.26 blocks per game. In 17 games during the season, Moate led the Lancers with 135 kills, a .429 hitting percentage, 10 assists, 38 digs, 87 total clocks and 206 total points for an average of three points per set. Moate and the Lancers are competing for the first time at the U Sports championships. The No. 8-ranked Lancers will face No. 1-ranked Trinity Western University on Friday in quarter-final play in Hamilton.
WILLSON VISITS CAROLINA
LaSalle’s Luke Willson made a free-agent visit with the Carolina Panthers on Thursday.
The 28-year-old Willson has spent the past five seasons with the Seattle Seahawks, who made him a fifth-round selection in the 2013 NFL Draft out of Rice University. The six-foot-five, 254-pound Willson was also a free agent last year, but returned to the Seahawks on a one-year deal. Willson has appeared in 72 games with the Seahawks and made 37 starts over that stretch. He has career totals of 89 catches for 1,129 yards and 11 touchdowns.