Posted by Greater Sudbury Northern Life
The turn of the calendar to February may provide the
greeting for Punxsutawney Phil or Wiarton Willie in the eyes of
many, but for local sports aficionados, it can mean only one
thing: the beginning of a six to eight week stretch that
consistently ranks as the craziest of the entire year.
With a million and one things on the go in the sports
community, it seems only fair to devote this weekly column to a
round-up of at least some of the events that keeps parents
hopping through February and March.
In Garson and Coniston, it was the annual Nickel Centre Minor
Hockey Houseleague Tournament that grabbed the spotlight as a
total of 48 teams assembled to compete for six divisional
championships. Emotions were running high Sunday evening, as an
incredible five of the six finals contested were decided by
just a single goal.
The tykes kicked off the trend in the early afternoon as A.J.
Favot scores an overtime winner to lift the SMHA Rocks past the
Nickel Centre Rocks 3-2. Ethan Stewart and Nolan Berthelette
also chipped in with a goal apiece for the SMHA crew while
Nolan Peltier and Brynn Thomson countered in a losing cause.
The Novice crown provided the first of two championship banners
heading west to Sault Ste. Marie as the Cofra Blue Devils
received an overtime marker from Trenton Carter to slip past
the Sault HSBC 3-2. Camaryn Barber netted a pair of goals for
Cofra while Tristan Cicchello and Thomas Cormier replied for
HSBC.
After cruising through four straight games en route to the
final, the Sudbury Lady Wolves Atoms B were pushed hard in the
gold-medal encounter, earning a hard fought win in the third
straight 3-2 affair. France Belanger, Tayler Murphy and Kaylie
Venedam handled the scoring for the girls while Jeremy Taylor
enjoyed a two-goal outing for Espanola Giant Tiger.
In the only final not decided by the slimmest of margins,
Ronson Odjig paced the Wikwemikong Hawks to a 5-2 win over the
Nickel Centre Ice Dogs in the Peewee match-up. Daniel Mejaki,
Jonas Aiabens and Brandon Pangowish added a goal apiece for the
Manitoulin Island crew while Blake Purcell and Martin Belcourt
answered for the Ice Dogs.
A first period goal by Jacob Bates would stand as the game's
only scoring as the Bristol Machine Leafs avenged a 3-0 round
robin loss to the Eventful Wildcats, blanking the Cats 1-0 in
the final.
After needing overtime to dispose of the SMHA Predators in
semifinal action, the Soo North Star Brokers did not wait quite
as long in capturing the midget title. Jacob Janke drilled his
second goal of the game midway through the third period to
break a 2-2 tie and lifted the Sooites past the Rayside Howlers
3-2.
Dustin Lajoie added the remaining goal for the winners while
Michel Barrette and Mathieu Thomas both hit the scoresheet for
the Howlers.
It is both one of the area's largest and most prestigious
high-school volleyball events. The annual Nickel Classic
Tournament drew a total of 32 teams (16 junior and 16 senior
squads) from across the province, including a number of teams
that are more than a little familiar with annual trips to OFSAA
competition.
In addition to a very impressive local contingent, this year's
field included entries from King's Christian Collegiate
(Oakville), St Thomas Aquinas (Thunder Bay), Notre-Dame
(Burlington), Glebe Collegiate Institute (Ottawa), Jean Vanier
(Welland) and Kapuskasing District High School.
In the end, it was a familiar northern rival who made its
presence felt as the Widdifield Wildcat volleyball powerhouse
from North Bay swept both the junior and senior championship
affairs, with the Lockerby Vikings working their way through to
a silver-medal performance at the senior level.
A touch of irony from the curling scene as on the same weekend
that the Idywldylde Golf & Country Club sent its fifth rink
in the past six years to a Canadian Junior Curling championship
(the Vanessa Maloney ladies quartet this time around), the club
would play host to the breeding ground of young curling talent.
The Timbits Challenge - Little Rocks Curling Bonspiel expanded
to a two-day event for the first time, greeting 14 teams to the
local club for a weekend of fun and festivities. In the end,
the Tanner Horgan rink emerged undefeated to claim top spot,
followed closely by the Graham/Burns tandem and Team Brunton.
A tie-breaker in the skills competition saw the Megan Smith
rink edge out the crew headed up by Kira Haller and Sam Cull,
while the Providence Bay team - the only out of town group
taking part in the bonspiel - traveled home as recipients of
the Sportsmanship/Etiquette Award.
Randy Pascal is the voice of Persona 10 Sports and the founder of SudburySports.com.
