BY TREVOR STEWART
Excitement is building around the Dr. Edgar
LeClair Community Arena in Azilda this week, as Rayside Balfour
Tigers players, coaches and volunteers get ready for the
weekend's OHF Major Peewee A championships.
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The Rayside Balfour Major Peewee A
Tigers (above) anticipate a heated rematch with
Northern Ontario Hockey Association (NOHA) champions
and local rivals, the Nickel Centre Flyers. |
Rayside Balfour will host Ontario's top Major
Peewee A clubs in a jam-packed weekend of hockey. Meadowvale,
Woodstock, LaSalle, and Nickel Centre each earned a spot in the
all-Ontario tournament by coming out on top of their respective
provincial hockey association playdowns.
The teams play two games per day starting
today and ending when one team is crowned provincial champion
after Sunday's 3:30 pm championship tilt.
The opening ceremonies are being held at 6 pm
this evening. Confirmed guest speakers are former NHLers and
Sudbury byproducts Troy Crowder and Troy Mallette.
The Tigers are anticipating a heated rematch
with Northern Ontario Hockey Association (NOHA) champions and
local rivals, the Nickel Centre Flyers.
The teams have traded a number of victories
this season.
However, the Flyers proved to be the stronger
team in March's NOHA Tournament of Champions in Hearst,
claiming the title with a win over Temiskaming Pederson in the
finals.
"We've beat them a few times and they've beat
us a few times," Tigers assistant coach Jerrol White says.
"We've had close games. Even though we didn't win in Hearst,
the way we played, we expect to be very competitive. We're out
to win."
The NOHA teams can't afford to get caught up
in staring each other down, however, as the tournament's three
other teams are prepared to provide some stifling
competition.
The LaSalle Sabres come into the OHF
championships after winning the Ontario Minor Hockey
Association title in a three-game sweep of Orillia, culminating
in a 6-1 victory in Game 3. This particular Sabres squad is
getting used to the winning feeling, rounding out a second
straight season as OMHA champions. The same team won last
year's OMHA Minor Peewee crown as 11 year olds.
The Meadowvale Mohawks also enter this
tournament riding high after their successful Greater Toronto
Hockey League playdown run. The Mohawks knocked off teams from
Scarborough, Toronto, and Markham en route to the GTHL title.
Meadowvale outscored those three opponents by a combined score
of 11-2 in the three games, which included two shutouts.
Meanwhile, Alliance champion Woodstock Jr.
Navy Vets showed great intestinal fortitude in bringing home
their championship, rebounding to defeat Hamilton in the final
round after dropping Game 1 of that series.
"Hockey's a team game. It's not about
individuals," says White. "The key to any hockey game is to
play like a team, follow our game plan and not let the other
team dictate the way things are going. If we do that we can be
successful." Rayside Balfour Minor Hockey Association
volunteers are
working hard to put together a successful
event, which started last night with a banquet at the LeClair
Community Centre.
