Just one more step to go.
Registering a team in the newly-created youth division of the Greater Sudbury Ball Hockey League in the spring of 2022, the Sudbury Flying Elbows would enjoy sufficient success on a local level to warrant a trek to the Ontario Ball Hockey Federation provincials.
And though they were competitive in each and every outing, the northern lads were still saddled with three straight setbacks, making an early departure from the all-Ontario tournament last summer.
Bringing back almost entirely the same roster in 2023, the locals wrote themselves a drastically different story earlier this month, making their way to the U16B gold medal encounter before running out of steam and settling for silver.
“I think last year, they were a little bit intimidated,” said head coach Jason Salemink, his team remaining undefeated in round robin play (2-0-1) before posting a dramatic semi-final victory in overtime to come to within one step of their end goal. “We weren’t really sure what to expect.”
“We showed up with no shin pads – and those are mandatory. Ball hockey there (in southern Ontario) is big. But just playing overtime, we are getting better as a team.”
Still, there remained a bit of acclimatization required, even the second time around.
Trailing 3-1 with just over two minutes to play in their opening affair, the Sudbury crew received late goals from Nolan Cardinal and Matti Jouppi (Cody Smith scored earlier) to salvage a 3-3 tie with the Etobicoke Whalers.
Their confidence boosted notably, the Elbow teens jumped all over the Withrow Park Knights, blasting their opponents 9-0 as Blake Cole and Carter Drigo netted two goals apiece, joined on
the scoresheet by Cody Smith, Karsen Deschenes, Noah Gladu, Rowan Smith and Anthony Bertrand.
A U14 call-up due to the unavailability of their regular keeper, goaltender Sam Lemieux stepped up with the shutout.
Following a cross-divisional 5-2 win over the Kitchener-Waterloo Rangers, the Flying Elbows were pitted against the New Tecumseh Xtreme, with a berth in the finals on the line. After breaking the ice in the scoring department early in the game, Nolan Schiewek also forced overtime, taking a pass from Anthony Bertrand and deadlocking the contest at 2-2 with 4:09 to play.
Five minutes into period number four, Cameron Seguin picked the ideal time to bury his first goal of the weekend, advancing the nickel city reps to the grand finale.
“We just ran out of gas,” noted coach Salemink, his team falling 6-0 to a Guelph Cyclones team that outscored their adversaries 20-3 in preliminary round games. “It was a long day; a few more hours of rest would have helped.”
Rounding out the Flying Elbows’ roster are Dante Faccendi, Dimitri Lavallee and Reegan Billard – along with coaches Darryl Smith, Bert Drigo and team manager Liane Chevrier. If this looks like a very familiar assortment of Nickel City Hockey Association talent, you’re not wrong.
But as Salemink is quick to note, solid hockey skills will only carry you so far when the game moves indoors, on cement flooring, and the puck switches to a ball. “Skating and running are two totally different things,” said the coach. “You definitely have to know how to move the ball around.”
“If you try and run with the ball all day, you’re just going to tire yourself out.”
The bonus to have a very familiar on-ice crew together for the transition to the summer game is that there are always, inevitably, youngsters who show better in the ball hockey environment than they do in the more traditional winter sport setting.
Case in point: Noah Gladu.
“He’s a fairly good hockey player, but he’s much more in involved in ball hockey because he can really run,” said Salemink. “In hockey, he’s not a top scorer – but he is exceptional at ball hockey.”
The U16 Flying Elbows are not the only local entry testing themselves against the ball hockey elite. Beginning tomorrow (July 19) and through to July 22, the New Sudbury Zambronis will make a return appearance at the 2023 Canada Ball Hockey Nationals in Mississauga, as the local association (GSBHL) continues to take the necessary steps to raise the profile of their sport in Sudbury.
Randy Pascal is a sportswriter in Sudbury. Pursuit is made possible by our Community Leaders Program.
