THUNDER BAY – The Thunder Bay Kings under-13 and U18 teams have returned home from Kenora after winning their respective Hockey Northwestern Ontario District championship titles over the weekend.
The U13s swept the Kenora Thistles in two straight to claim their crown, while the U18s needed a third and deciding game, before eventually prevailing.
Riding a third-straight shutout from netminder Kainaan Macgillivray, Thunder Bay thumped the Thistles 8-0 in the U13 opener Friday.
Jace Voortman paced the Kings offensively with two tallies and a couple of assists.
Felix Sapay and Mason Glousher also scored twice in the triumph, with Owen Trevisanutto and Cooper Disher chipping in with a goal and two helpers apiece.
They then completed the sweep with a 7-1 victory Saturday.
Glousher led the way with a four-point performance, including a pair of markers.
Brady Nash also notched a couple of goals, along with a helper, while Disher, Trevisnutto and Benton Ashworth also found the back of the net.
Getting the win in net was Carter Johnson.
As for the U18s, they let a two-goal third period lead get away and fell 5-4 in Game 1.
Coming back with Travis Smith between the pipes in Game 2, he did not let any get past him in posting a 4-0 shutout.
Smith got the starting nod once more in the finale, and after giving up an early one, he never trailed after that, as the Kings skated away with a 5-2 triumph.
They’ll now move on to compete in the West Regional, April 6-9, in Warman, Sask.
There they’ll take with the host Warman Wildcats, as well as the respective champions of the Manitoba and Saskatchewan AAA U18 leagues.
Right now the Winnipeg Wild are up two games to none on their cross-city rival Winnipeg Bruins heading into the third match-up in the best-of-five final Tuesday.
Further west, the Regina Pat Canadians and Saskatoon Blazers are knotted at one win each, with Game 3 in their best-of-five set going Monday night in Saskatoon.
Meanwhile, the Kings and Thistles will both compete in the All-Ontario U13 AAA provincial championship, presented by BioSteel, April 12-16 at the Fort William Gardens.
OHL CUP: The Thunder Bay under-16 Kings head to Toronto this week to compete in the annual Ontario Hockey League Cup, at the Scotiabank Pond.
Game action for the Kings begins Wednesday morning at 11:30 a.m. as they take on the York-Simcoe Express.
Later that night, they’ll meet the Toronto Jr. Canadiens at 7 p.m.
Thursday’s lone tilt for the club with be a 2:15 p.m. encounter with a yet to be determined wild-card entry opponent.
They’ll then wrap-up round robin play Friday at 9:45 a.m. as they take on the Sun County Panthers, from the Windsor area.
This event will feature 20 of the top U16 AAA teams from Ontario and the U.S., taking part.
Photo credits: Hockey Northwestern Ontario
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