Francophone athletes unite at Tournoi Franco

Posted by SudburySports.com founder Randy Pascal

It was just about five years ago when I was first introduced to the concept of a "Tournoi Franco" (Franco Tournament). A mix of cultural exchange and athletic competition for Francophone Secondary Schools from across the province, these events have not only become a mainstay on the dockets of many local schools, they are also among the most highly anticipated tournaments for a large number of students who take part.

If memory serves me correctly, my initiation to the joys of the "Tournoi Franco" came courtesy of the crew at Ecole secondaire catholique Champlain, who played host to the volleyball games a few years back and also enjoyed a great deal of success on the hockey front, where it's a virtual free-for-all in terms of player eligibility.

This past weekend, four schools hosted the junior and senior girls basketball tournaments, with 34 teams taking part. Once again, the range of competitive level was evident, ranging from the senior crew from Ecole Secondaire Long Lac, complete with the homemade uniforms, to some outstanding young basketball talent from Ottawa, Windsor, Welland, Mississauga and, of course, Sudbury.

Now in fairness to the very friendly group from Long Lac, it should be noted that the team benefited from exactly three practice sessions prior to heading to Franco 2008. Truth be told, the "team" was assembled for those three practices. Located some 320 kilometres east of Thunder Bay, the school is so geographically isolated that it is impossible to maintain any kind of athletic programs.

Furthermore, the entire community numbers some 1,750 inhabitants, easily less than the combined student population of Macdonald-Cartier, College Notre-Dame and Horizon. Therein lies the beauty of the concept of "Tournoi Franco," an opportunity through sport for students to enjoy the many friendships and exchanging of ideas with their peer group throughout Ontario.

From a competitive standpoint, the local contingent fared very well. At the senior girls level, Ecole secondaire l'Essor from Tecumseh (Windsor) proved to be the Sudbury nemesis, eliminating the CND Alouettes in semifinal play before bettering the Horizon Aigles in the "A" Division final.

In the Junior ranks, Confederation (Welland) downed St. Famille (Mississauga) to capture the "A" bragging rights while the College Notre-Dame Alouettes, winless in their first seven outings of SDSSA Division I regular season play, started to show signs of progress, picking up top honours in the Junior Division "B" final.

Perhaps not quite as much of a cultural gathering at the Tom Davies Community Centre in Lively. But plenty of hockey excitement as the Walden Minor Hockey Association - celebrating their 35th anniversary this year - hosted their annual Novice-Atom-Peewee rep hockey tournament over the weekend.

Tournament organizers could not have asked for a better script to be written for the Sunday afternoon finals. Not only were Walden Devil representative teams taking to the ice for three of the four championship encounters, but for the fans' benefit, all four games were decided by just a single goal.

The novice age bracket featured the tournament's only overtime contest, as Julien Marshall netted the game-winning goal, lifting the Nickel Centre Flyers past the Rayside-Balfour Tigers 3-2 in semifinal play.

The final was equally as close as Mathieu Dokis-Dupuis and Braeden Dumais staked the Sudbury Bulldogs to a 2-0 lead before Tommy Vlahos narrowed the gap to one, scoring for Nickel Centre midway through the third. But that would be the last change made to the scoreboard as the Bulldogs edged the Devils 2-1.

After picking up a pair of championship banners at the 2007 event, the Bulldogs organization duplicated the feat this fall when Tyrus Cuculick was sent free on a breakaway, giving the Minor Atom Bulldogs a 2-1 win over the Walden Devils.

Dawson Nootchtai (Walden) and William Irvine (Bulldogs) traded goals over the opening two periods of play, setting the stage for the third period dramatics. Yet another great final in store for the Major Atoms as the Walden crew give the hometown gathering plenty to cheer about, stopping the North Bay Elite 3-2 to walk away with the divisional crown.

Bray Crowder netted a pair of goals for the victors with Riley Nadeau adding a second period power play marker to round out the scoring for Walden. Troy McLuhan and Jon Rosien replied in a losing cause for North Bay.

And finally, the Minor Peewee Division provided a fitting conclusion to the day's festivities as the Copper Cliff Redmen and Walden Devils remained deadlocked in a scoreless draw midway through period three.

Cue the heroics as Dexter Lamarche drilled the only goal of the game, allowing the Devils to earn a split of the hardware up for grabs at their own tournament, blanking the Redmen 1-0 in the Minor Peewee final. 