HUNDER BAY – The first of seven Greater Toronto Hockey League regular season stints are in the books and here’s a recap as to how the under-18, U-16 and U-15 Thunder Bay Kings’ clubs fared.
U-18: It was a very solid start for the U-18s as they came away with a pair of victories, along with a couple of ties, in their first four GTHL contests.
RESULTS
vs. Toronto Marlboros (6-3 Win)
vs. Toronto Red Wings (2-0 Win)
vs. Reps Hockey Club (3-3 Tie)
vs. Toronto Jr. Canadiens (4-4 Tie)
Thunder Bay’s initial GTHL victory came in their opener as Zach Biniaris scored twice and set-up another in a 6-3 triumph over the Marlboros.
Then they saw Kings’ netminder Keenan Marks turn aside all 27 shots he faced in a 2-0 shutout win over the Red Wings while Keagan Jones and Luca Ricciardi notched the markers.
In the draw with the Reps, Josh Lento picked up three points, including two goals, and Brodie McLeod dished out a couple of helpers.
In their finale, Ricciardi found the back of the net twice while Evan Lachimea collected two assists in the tie vs. the Jr. Canadiens.
Thunder Bay netminders Marks and Nate Krawchuk both sported 1-0-1 records over the weekend with goals-against averages of 2.00 and 3.00 respectively.
U-16: Taking on some of the elite under-16 AAA sides in not only Ontario, but right across North America, the U-16s were in tough and went winless in their four games.
RESULTS
vs. Toronto Jr. Canadiens (6-1 Loss)
vs. Toronto Marlboros (8-2 Loss)
vs. Toronto Red Wings (5-2 Loss)
vs. Markham Majors (8-0 Loss)
In those meetings, Thunder Bay’s U-16s took on a four-pack of highly-skilled clubs that are a combined 12-2-1 so far to start play in the GTHL’s U-16 AAA Division.
The Jr. Canadiens (2nd), Marlboros (3rd) and Majors (4th) are all tabbed in the Top 5 in the provincial U-16 AAA rankings while the Red Wings (14th) are also in the mix.
Max LeDuc and Lucas Bertolin paced Thunder Bay offensively with a pair of tallies each with Jordan Fanti chipping in with two assists.
U-15: The squad was ultra competitive, skating to a trios of ties against one narrow setback, which was decided in the late going.
RESULTS
vs. North York Rangers (1-1 Tie)
vs. Don Mills Flyers (3-3 Tie)
vs. Mississauga Rebels (3-1 Loss)
vs. Markham Majors (3-3 Tie)
In their opener against North York, Thunder Bay carried the play, but could not find the back of the net for most of the match-up.
However, down one with under a minute to play, they pulled netminder Chase Furlong for an extra attacker and Carter Poddubny scored with just one second remaining, in dramatic fashion, to earn the tie.
Taking on a big Don Mills squad in their next outing, the Kings sMARLed back from a 3-0 third period deficit to earn a draw, getting markers from Poddubny, Nicholas Silvaggio and Matthew Bertolin.
Next up, the U-15s and Mississauga were knotted 1-1 late into the proceedings before the Reps tallied twice to pick up the win. Bertolin had the lone goal for Thunder Bay with help from Easton Mikus.
Wrapping things up, the Kings produced another well-played affair only to see Markham connect deep into the final frame with a power play marker.
Scoring for the Kings were Poddubny, Liam Lucas and Grayson Hayes.
Both Thunder Bay goalkeepers, Furlong and Travis Vanderzwaag, were solid between the pipes.
NEXT UP IN THE GTHL
Friday, Dec. 3
U-16: vs. Vaughan Kings 7 p.m. (Westwood Arena 1)
U-15: vs. Reps Hockey Club 7:15 p.m. (Westwood 2)
U-18: vs. Mississauga Senators 8:30 p.m. (Westwood 1)
Saturday, Dec. 4
U-16: vs. North York Rangers 10:35 a.m. (Herb Carnegie Arena)
U-15: vs. Vaughan Kings 10:40 a.m. (Westwood 1)
U-18: vs. Toronto Young Nationals 12:25 p.m. (Westwood 5)
U-15: vs. Markham Majors 5:45 p.m. (Chesswood Arena 1)
U-16: vs. Mississauga Senators 5:45 p.m. (Herb Carnegie)
U-18: vs. Mississauga Rebels 6:45 p.m. (Westwood 5)
Sunday, Dec. 5
U-18: vs. Toronto Titans 1 p.m. (Chesswood 1)
U-15: vs. Reps Hockey Club 2 p.m. (Westwood 1)
U-16: vs. Reps Hockey Club 3 p.m. (Westwood 1)
PHOTO: A ceremonial puck drop with GTHL chief operating officer & Executive Director, Scott Oakman (2nd from left) along with Thunder Bay Kings president Michael Power (3rd from left) and Kings’ under-16 forward Nicholas Holomego (far right) to commence the organization’s debut in the Greater Toronto Hockey League on Friday, Dec. 12 at Scotiabank Pond in Toronto. Photo courtesy GTHL.
