MINOR HOCKEY: Two take Ontario titles
All hands were on deck, and then some, when the Port Colborne Golden Puck Sailors visited the Lambeth Lancers on Saturday with a chance to win an Ontario Minor Hockey Association championship.
Two busloads of family, friends and faithful turned the small arena in the London, Ont., suburb into Port Colborne West, giving the novice team a cheering section of more than 100.
And there was plenty to cheer about as the seven- and eightyearolds dominated the Lancers for a 12- 3 victory to complete a sweep in a best- of- fi ve, six- point fi nal against the defending provincial champions.
Brooms were also put to good use in Pelham, where the Panthers swept to the provincial atom A/ E championship with three straight wins in a best- ofthree, six- point fi nal against the Collingwood Blackhawks with a 1- 0 victory that gave Pelham the series six points to two.
Pelham, which dropped a 2- 1 decision in the series opener in Collingwood, began its winning weekend began Friday night with another 1- 0 victory that was followed up the next day with another win, this time by a 3- 1 score.
Port Colborne, which opened the rematch of last year’s novice fi nal with 9- 5 and 8- 3 victories, was in control from the opening faceoff in a road win that improved their overall record to an eye- popping 67- 2- 1.
“We jumped out early on them and they never got back into the game,” head coach Shawn Coers after his Sailors cruised to Port Colborne’s second Ontario title in as many years.
Last year, the bantam B Sailors turned the trick and went for gold again this year, but lost a fi ve- point, six- point final to the Listowel Cyclone seven points to one. The Scotiabank Sailors were eliminated in a 6- 1 road loss Sunday.
Nine different scorers found the back of the net for the Port novices in a game that Coers said came closing to sounding like a home game to his young players.
“It’s a small arena, so it was a nice environment. You certainly could hear where our fans were sitting. Th e kids were really pumped.”
After avenging a sweep at the lands of the Lancers in last year’s gold medal, the newly minted champions were treated to submarines sandwiches on the bus ride home. They also got to celebrate after they arrived in Port Colborne at about 9: 30 a. m., with the “whole venue” at the City Tavern taken over for a team function.
“Th e kids got to stay up late,” said Coers, whose son Dylan plays on the team.
Th e coach called the whistle- towhistle win a “total team victory” and said the was again was indicative of the Sailors’ greatest strength on the ice — “team depth.”
“When you have nine diff erent guys scoring, who do you isolate if you’re the opposing team. It’s been like that all year.”
In addition to dominating league play, the Sailors won four tournaments and cruised through the playoff s, compiling a 17- 0 record.
A Pelham Panthers team, meanwhile, remains in the hunt for an atom title after they skated past the visiting Napanee Stars 5- 1 Sunday to avoid elimination in a best- of- fi ve, six- point fi nal.
Brandon Johnson, with two goals; Mitchell Carmichael, Alex Repar and Ethan Mergl scored for the Panthers who went 2- 1 in weekend playoff action. Th ey won 5- 3 on their home ice Friday before suff ering a 3- 2 loss the following day in Napanee.
“It’s been a back- and- forth series with the home team winning every time,” head coach Darren Veld said.
While the Panthers aren’t looking forward to a four- hour bus trip to Friday night’s Game 5 in Napanee, nor to playing on the larger Olympic- size rink in the Kingston- area community, Veld hopes his team’s skill at moving the puck will win the day.
“We play a strong transition game. We take away a lot of cross- ice movement,” he said.