‘The boys are excited to keep the trophy’
Both AA and AAA teams move on to COSSA on Monday
The Crestwood Mustangs have overcome adversity all season and did so again to win a second straight Kawartha AA boys high school hockey title.
The Mustangs rallied from a 4-2 deficit in the final four minutes and then scored 48 seconds into overtime to shock the Holy Cross Hurricanes, 5-4, at the Kinsmen Civic Centre on Tuesday afternoon.
The AAA final was less dramatic as the St. Peter’s Saints ran up a 3-0 first-period lead on the way to defeating Lindsay’s I.E. Weldon Wildcats, 6-2, at Ennismore’s Robert E. Young Recreation Complex.
All four teams will advance to COSSA on Monday with the AA teams playing in Belleville and the AAA teams playing in Ennismore and Millbrook.
Holy Cross looked in control when Nate White’s second goal of the game made it 4-2 with 10 minutes left in the third period. Crestwood closed the gap on a power play with 3:59 remaining when Dawson Corfe tucked a puck under the crossbar from the side of the net while straddling the goal line.
With their goalie pulled for an extra attacker, Crestwood had a goal disallowed with 1:28 left when they knocked Hurricanes goalie Cam Ryan into his net. It looked like another goal might be disallowed 20 seconds later after Zac Leeson jammed the puck home in a scramble, but the referee initially didn’t signal a goal. After huddling with the two other officials he signalled a goal.
Colby Kekki won it in overtime making a cut to the middle to snap a shot inside the post.
“The boys are excited to keep the trophy,” said Kekki, after a second straight overtime win over Holy Cross in the Kawartha final. “The coaches called an important timeout and talked to us and got us in the right mindset. After the first goal we pulled the goalie and had a goal called off and came back to win it.”
“I was proud of our boys for not mailing it in,” said Crestwood coach Mike Leeson. “In a championship game like that, whether it be a city or COSSA title, it’s important for them. They battled back and I’m proud of that.
“They stuck with it even after having a potential game-tying goal waved of. There was a little bit of adversity there and they still stuck with it,” added Leeson.
Earlier in the season the team dealt with two incidents he didn’t want to elaborate on, but pulled together to overcome early season struggles.
“We’ve dealt with lots of different things this year and struggled halfway through the season and we picked it up halfway through and it’s been good for them. We came together,” he said.
Hurricanes coach Chris Fee said the referee explained that he didn’t see the puck enter the goal on the tying marker, but after speaking with his two partners they informed him it had crossed the line.
“It looked like it was right,” said Fee, taking no issue with the call.
Fee thought his club took too many third-period penalties in giving Crestwood three power plays including a short five-on-three.
“It looked like they had more legs than we did for whatever reason,” Fee said. “We thought maybe we were going to win it and got a bit overconfident.”
Colton Bain had two goals and an assist for Crestwood, while Corfe, Kekki and Zac Leeson, all had assists to go with their goals. Terry Vokey assisted on the winner, while Haiden Woodward and Owen Sturge also had assists.
Tyler Heffernan and DJ Crough also scored for Holy Cross with assists by Owen Cook, Ethan Lacey, Cooper Mann, Braxton Howard and Eddie Chambers.
In Ennismore, AJ Whitney led the Saints with two goals and an assist, while Michael Donahee had a goal and two helpers. Jack Davies, Jacob Stinson and Bryson Cumming also scored for the Saints. Connor Russell had two assists with singles by Tom Donald, Owen Hickey, Ryland Wilson and Aedan Temple.
The Saints have won Kawartha 12 of the past 13 seasons.
“The message I gave before the game is that this is a title that is important to the school and to the people who have gone to St. Peter’s through the years and have played for the team,” said Saints coach Kevin Fitzgerald. “It’s something we strive for every year. The boys did it against a very good I.E. Weldon team that has some very skilled hockey players.”
Logan Brown had a goal and assist for Weldon, while Seth Goble also scored with assists to Calenn Williams, Nash McGill and Ray Thurston.
The Saints will face the Quinte second seed in the semifinals on Monday in Ennismore, while Weldon will meet Quinte’s top seed in Millbrook, both at 10 a.m. The final is 2 p.m. in Ennismore.