These last three days saw an incredible display of hockey at Oakville’s Sixteen-Mile Sports Complex. The first major OMHA AAA tournament since the start of the pandemic featured many incredibly memorable games for players, parents and fans.
When asked why the organization chose Sixteen-Mile for their venue, Executive Director of the OMHA Ian Taylor said, "first of all, it’s a brilliant facility."
"We have been here before hosting OMHA championships, and we have also hosted a few U16 camps here also. This is a state-of-the-art facility and is a great place for not only just the parents and the kids but also a great showcase."
The three-day stretch hosted championships for the U10, U11, U16 and U18 age groups.
Next week the arena will also host AAA championships for the U12-U15 age groups.
U10
The U10 age group saw eight teams competing for the championship.
Those eight teams were the:
- Oakville Rangers
- York-Simcoe Express
- Halton Hurricanes
- Quinte Red Devils
- Barrie Jr Colts
- Markham Waxers
- Niagara North Stars
- Burlington Eagles
The semi-finals saw Barrie and York-Simcoe square off for the chance at a championship birth, and in the other division, Oakville and Markham faced off for their chance at a spot in the championship game.
In Semi-Final one, the Barrie Jr Colts had a major offensive outburst in the third period and came back from being down one goal in the third. They won the game 5-3, punching their ticket into the championship game.
In Semi-final two, Oakville and Markham played an extraordinarily tight defensive match.
Oakville found themselves up 2-0 at the start of the third period, but Markham scored with around eight minutes left in the game, bringing Oakville’s lead to 2-1.
Though Markham put in a massive effort near the end of the game, the Rangers held on for a 2-1 victory and gained entrance into the championship game.
The championship game between Oakville and Barrie was an enormous affair for both teams.
Barrie started the game off hot, scoring five straight goals and found themselves up 5-0 with eight minutes left in the second period.
But the Rangers never gave up. Oakville scored a big goal near the end of the period to try and start a comeback and the second period ended 5-1 Barrie.
About three and a half minutes into the third period Oakville scored again, making the game 5-2.
Then shortly after that, Oakville scored again on the power play making the game 5-3 with eight minutes left in the game.
The Rangers battled hard for the rest of the game and had many more chances, but the Colts added an empty netter with about one minute left, securing the U10 OMHA AAA championship - a great game to watch and an excellent performance by both teams.
U11
The eight teams featured in the U11 age group were the:
- Southern Tier Admirals
- Oakville Rangers
- York-Simcoe Express
- Central Ontario Wolves
- Quinte Red Devils
- Niagara North Stars
- Burlington Eagles
- Peterborough Petes.
In Semi-Final one, the Oakville Rangers and Quinte Red Devils squared off for a chance to go to the championship. The Rangers opened the scoring in the first period with 4:40 left.
Shortly after the start of the second period, Quinte scored, tying the game at 1-1. But Oakville regained the lead with a powerplay goal with 6:37 left in the period to make the score 2-1.
Both teams played extremely hard for the rest of the game but Quinte still found themselves down one goal near the end of the third period.
The team pulled their goalie for the extra attacker and it paid off. Quinte scored the tying goal with 1:07 left in regulation to force overtime.
The overtime period was riveting: With 3:29 left in the game, Quinte took advantage of a powerplay, scored the winning goal, and gained entrance into the championship game.
Semi-Final two was somewhat tamer than the craziness in the other game.
Semi-Final two between the Niagra North Stars and the Southern Tier Admirals was a low-scoring affair that stayed tight throughout the game.
The Admirals scored one goal in the first period and one goal in the second, giving them a 2-0 lead at the start of the third period.
The Admirals held the fort for the rest of the game and won 2-0, and now have the chance at winning the U11 championship.
The championship game between Quinte and Souther Tier turned out to be all Quinte.
The Red Devils scored one goal in the first period and three in the second, giving them a 4-0 lead at the end of the second period.
The game ended 5-1 for the Red Devils, anointing them the new U11 OMHA AAA champions.
U16
The eight teams represented in the U16 age group were the:
- Quinte Red Devils
- Hamilton Jr. Bulldogs
- Markham Waxers
- Burlington Eagles
- York-Simcoe Express
- Niagara North Stars
- Ajax/Pickering Raiders
- Halton Hurricanes
Semi-Final one saw Quinte taking on Niagra - a fantastic game. The game was tightly contested, keeping everyone in attendance on the edge of their seat throughout the entire game.
After every period, the game was tied, and every period only saw one goal scored for each team. So both teams went into overtime at a 3-3 tie.
The game ended quickly when Niagra’s Matthew Coates scored 31 seconds into overtime, giving them the win and a chance at the championship.
Semi-Final two was a low-scoring and low-event game.
The game stayed at 0-0 for a significant portion of the game until York-Simcoe’s Daniel Vasic scored, giving the Express a 1-0 lead and game-winning goal.
The Championship game between York-Simcoe and Niagara was one for the ages.
The game was extremely tight and competitive, and every player played their hearts out.
York-Simcoe was the first to get on the board after Jared McNeil jumped on a rebound to give the Express a 1-0 lead.
Shortly after, Niagara got on the board. Luca Testa scored, tying the game at 1-1.
The game stayed tied for the rest of regulation due, in most part to the spectacular goaltending by both sides. Another overtime game was upon us.
In overtime, both teams traded chances until York-Simcoe’s Nicholas Ferrante picked up a Rylan Tait rebound and dragged the puck far side, giving the Express a dramatic overtime win and the U16 championship.
After the game, Ferrante commented on his goal, saying, "I just saw the puck come off the rebound, and I just had to capitalize on my opportunity. I saw the open net, and I knew I needed to finish."
Ferrante commented on the play of his goaltender Parker Barnard, saying, "Parker just had an amazing tournament. Parker is a player where things just come naturally to him. He’s been here before. He comes out here and plays 110% and just does what he does."
U18
The eight teams represented in the U18 tournament were the:
- Guelph Gryphons
- Ajax-Pickering Raiders
- Oshawa Generals
- Oakville Rangers
- Burlington Eagles
- York-Simcoe Express
- Grey-Bruce Highlanders
- Clarington Toros
Semi-Final one saw a completely dominant third period by the Guelph Gryphons. After a scoreless first period, the Gryphons scored in the second period to make the game 1-0.
Then in the third period, the Gryphons had an offensive explosion and scored three goals securing a 4-0 victory and a birth in the championship game.
Semi-Final two between Burlington and Ajax-Pickering was a completely different game.
After just one goal in the first period by Burlington, the second period was an offensive explosion by both teams.
Burlington scored two goals, and Ajax/Pickering scored three, making the score 3-3 at the end of the second period.
The third period saw no scoring, which meant we were going to another overtime game.
In double overtime, Ajax-Pickering’s Ryan Johnstone scored to give the Raiders the win and punch their ticket to the Championship game.
The Championship game between Guelph and Ajax-Pickering was another great game.
The first period had goals from each team and the period ended 1-1.
The second period saw no scoring but many chances from both teams.
The third period opened up for both sides.
Guelph scored, making it 2-1, and then Joseph Kosakowski scored another goal for Guelph, increasing their lead by two goals.
Ajax-Pickering got one more goal making it 3-2, but that was as close as they could get, and the Guelph Gryphons won the game and the U18 championship.
The weekend was a spectacular three days of hockey, and all of these players will have memories that will last a lifetime.