Posted by Sudbury Northern Life
Just two weeks into the new year and the local sports scene
wasted little time cranking it up to full throttle. After the
customary "quiet time" for many young athletes over the
holidays, this past weekend signaled the kickoff of the
unofficial second half of the winter sports season.
The Coniston and Carmichael Arenas hosted the 25th edition of
the Royal Bank Fun Tournament, with a total of 24 tyke and
novice house league teams competing in three separate
divisions. The event, which essentially owed its start to a
single day celebration of grass roots hockey back in the 1980s,
is a mainstay on the Sudbury Minor Hockey Association
tournament calendar.
There was plenty of drama in the Novice A final, as the Valley
East Hanson Predators won their second consecutive game in a
shootout, edging the Valley East Neil's Y.I.G. Cobras 5-4 in
the final. Matt Dubois netted the hat trick to lead the way for
the Predators, with Patrick Godin adding a solo marker, while
Landon Thomson handled all of the scoring for the Cobras.
The Predators survived an eight-player shootout in the
semi-final affair before eliminating the Sudbury Novice Lady
Wolves and moving on to pick up their first victory of the year
over their Valley rivals.
In Novice B play, Jack McLeod enjoyed a four-goal outing and
Kayne Mortimore chipped in with a pair of goals, as the
Thessalon Eagles blanked the SMHA Sharks 6-0. Despite the loss,
Sharks netminder Mathew Matheson stood tall between the pipes,
turning aside countless Thessalon opportunities to keep the
score respectable and earning game MVP honours in the process.
A second trophy headed west along Highway 17 as the Sault Sims
Custom Counters bounced the SMHA Red Wings 7-0 in the Tyke
final. Nicholas Kelly Jamius paced the offense with a hat
trick, Aaron Mills added a pair, and Brianna Barban and Travis
Dowhaniuk rounded out the offense for the visiting Soo-ites.
Sudbury curlers shone on one of their most crucial weekends, as
three separate events garnered attention. Topping the list was
the NOCA Junior Provincials in Elliot Lake, resulting in the
Nickel City sending a team to Nationals once again.
The Vanessa Maloney foursome, representing the Idylwylde Golf
& Country Club, proved to be the class of the field on the
ladies side, winning five straight preliminary round games
before disposing of Sarah Lang (Fort William Curling Club) 9-3
in the final.
Maloney, along with longtime teammates Kendra Lilly, Jenny
Gates and Kaitlynd Burns, will don the northern Ontario colours
at the beginning of February in Salmon Arm, B.C., following
nicely in the footsteps of the Tracy Horgan rink that made
three appearances at the Canadian Championships.
Speaking of Team Horgan, Thunder Bay was the site of the
rematch as the Sudbury ladies battled Krista McCarville for a
second straight year in the NOCA Ladies final. Last year in
Espanola, Horgan took the inaugural rendition of the event but
McCarville got the upper hand this time around.
Still, both teams worked their way through, safely qualifying
for the Scotties Provincial Tournament of Hearts in Oakville at
the end of the month. Joining them in representing the NOCA
will be a second Sudbury entry, as Dawn Schwar works her way
back to the Ontario championships, as well as Ashley Miharija
of Thunder Bay, a regular opponent for the Horgan quartet
throughout their junior curling careers.
Closer to home, Tim Phillips took top spot in the third stop of
the Northern Ontario Curling Tour in Coniston, defeating Jeff
Brown of North Bay in the final. On the ladies side, Vicky
Barrett continued to prepare for the Senior Ladies' playdowns,
besting Arynn (Bailey) Frantz in the Sunday afternoon showdown.
There were just two Sudbury entries in the 25th annual
Scarborough Sharks Girls Hockey Tournament, but both managed to
advance to semi-final action before bowing out.
The Peewee BB Lady Wolves made a successful move up from the
Peewee B ranks, capturing the division before losing a tough
2-1 decision to the Windsor Wildcats.
Coach Ian Reinhard and company opened play with three straight
wins, knocking off the North York Storm (3-0), the Aurora
Panthers (5-2) and the North Durham Blades (5-0).
Fred Taylor's Intermediate ladies duplicated the initial
accomplishment of the Peewees, also taking first place in their
pool, before also losing a 2-1 decision to the Waterloo Ravens
with a berth to the finals on the line.
Sudbury played the London Devilettes to a scoreless draw,
thumped the Ottawa Ice 5-1 and squeaked past the Clearview Ice
Cats 3-2, in securing one of the top two spots in the team's
grouping.
Randy Pascal is the voice of Persona 10 Sports and the founder of SudburySports.com.
