It seems only fitting, given that the season of potluck
luncheons and dinners is now upon us, this week's column should
naturally feature an appetizing assortment of local sporting
tidbits, pleasing to the palate of any fan of Sudbury amateur
athletics.
The 2008 edition of the Sudbury Silver Tournament is now in the
books and when the dust settles on more than 180 games of minor
hockey action, what should be made of it all?
Well, the Valley East Rebels organization likely walked away
quite satisfied, accounting for more than half of the
championships garnered by local associations. The Rebels picked
up four championship banners (seven local teams advanced in
total) as the Minor Atoms blanked Cumberland 2-0, the Major
Atoms blasted Rayside Balfour 7-0, the Major Peewees edged the
Toronto Colts 3-2 and the Minor Bantams squeaked past the
Leaside Flames 2-1.
Other local winners included the Nickel Centre Flyers Novices
(3-1 over Walden), the Copper Cliff Redmen Minor "AA" Atoms
(3-2 over Markham Waxers) and the Walden Red Devil Minor
Peewees, who recovered from losing their first two round robin
games to trim the Silver Seven White 3-1 with the gold medals
on the line.
A total of 16 championship banners were presented, with
hardware now spread out across the province as the local
competition attracts teams from all corners of Ontario. Only
the East Nipissing Toyota Vipers (Novice AA) and the Soo Jr
Greyhounds (Major Atom A) managed to join the Sudbury and area
contingent as Northern Ontario squads that will advance to
International Silver Stick action in the new year.
With 13 of the 16 championship finals decided by two goals or
less, it would be hard to argue that the increased
competitiveness of the field does anything but help minor
hockey in the province.
One of the most highly anticipated events of the year (in my
mind) is the Rainbow Elementary Board's Grade 7/8 boys and
girls volleyball championships, which are running this week.
What makes these finals particularly exciting is the fact that
all four participating schools will bring in at least a couple
of bus loads of cheering kids to help support their
schoolmates.
Condense all of this into the friendly confines of the
gymnasium at Chelmsford Valley District Composite School and
you have a setting that is almost unparalleled in local
athletics. While the finals are staged midweek, the preliminary
round play and sudden death playoff matchups took place this
past weekend at CVDCS.
The girls championship encounter will feature C.R. Judd, a
mainstay at elementary volleyball finals, versus the
Macdonald-Cartier Pantheres - more well-known for their
basketball proficiency in recent years.
The boys final will follow as Lively Elementary School,
benefiting from the amalgamation of the already-strong programs
at Jessie Hamilton and George Vanier, moves on to face a
surprise entry in Pinecrest Public from Hanmer.
Still with volleyball, I've now had to chance to watch almost
the entire Division I Senior Girls loop in action and it's
looking like the contenders are going to have their hands full
trying to unseat the defending city champion Confederation
Chargers.
Not only do the Chargers return almost their entire lineup that
moved onto the OFSAA AA tournament one year ago, but no other
SDSSA entry can boast a 1-2 combination that matches the
Confederation tandem of Kristen Bolduc and Trina Czerkas. Throw
in an excellent setter in Alex McInnis and a whole lot of depth
in all other positions on the floor and it's clear that coach
Laura Aubertin has a recipe for success.
Among the front-runners to challenge are the College Notre-Dame
Alouettes, who recently upset the favourites in tournament play
at St. Charles College. The Cards and Lockerby Vikings should
also make some noise this year but when all is said and done, I
expect Confed to hang the SDSSA banner from the walls for a
second consecutive year.
As for the highly touted Bolduc, it appears a Sudbury
connection will prevail in the Southern U.S. as the hard
working Confederation middle will join Marymount Academy
graduate Shawna Metcalf at the University of North Florida in
Jacksonville next fall.
Coming off a very successful season opening tournament foray to
the Clarington Applefest that would see three Lady Wolves'
teams return home with championship banners, the local girls
hockey association continues to stock the trophy-case, with
some unlikely sources added to the group's success.
The Bantam BB team, which appeared in jeopardy of even icing a
squad given limited numbers at fall tryouts, continues to show
improvement - no big surprise given the presence of long-time
AAA coach, Steve Boyd, behind the bench.
Boyd and company recently captured the Waterloo Ravens
tournament, knocking off the host team 2-1 in the championship
final as Taylor Boyd scored the game-winning goal just 17
seconds into overtime.
It was an equally thrilling scenario for the Peewee A Lady
Wolves in Whitby as the team survived a 10-player shootout to
eliminate the Sarnia Sting 1-0 in semifinal action before
edging the Oshawa Lady Generals in a nail-biting final.
Kennedy Lanktree converted on a picture-perfect cross crease
pass from Karli Shell with just 49 seconds remaining in
regulation time to lift Sudbury past Oshawa 1-0. The win marks
the second straight year that the Sudbury Peewee "A"
representatives win gold in Whitby in 1-0 games.
Randy Pascal is the voice of Persona 10 Sports and the founder of SudburySports.com.
