THUNDER BAY – A trio of Thunder Bay Kings AAA teams will be out on the tournament trail this weekend with the under-13; U14 and U15 squads all seeing on-ice action.
The U14 & U15s are heading to southern Ontario to compete in the Oakville Winter Classic while the U13s will travel to Blaine, Minn., to take part in the Minnesota Gone Wild event.
Friday sees the U14 Kings meeting the Central Ontario Wolves (9:25 a.m.) and Belle Tire from Michigan (5:10 p.m.), with the U15s taking on the Brantford 99ers (12:15 p.m.) and Niagara North Stars (8:05 p.m.).
Saturday’s slate features the under-14s going up against the host Oakville Rangers (7 a.m.) and the U15s face the Chatham-Kent Cyclones (3:15 p.m.).
There are 20 U15 teams taking part in that age bracket while 24 squads will be vying for the U14 title, with quarter-final and consolation match-ups going Saturday evening.
Sunday will see the semifinal and championship games held.
As for Thunder Bay’s U13 Kings, they also open up Friday with a 12:15 p.m. ET tilt with the Grand Rapids Griffins.
They’ll then hit the ice twice Saturday, beginning with a 9:15 a.m. encounter against the Minnetonka Skippers, prior to meeting the Northwest Chargers, out of Illinois, at 5:55 p.m.
The lone contest on the Kings’ docket Sunday will be with the Rosemount Irish of Minnesota before concluding competition Monday versus a yet to be determined opponent.
THE WEEK THAT WAS: It was a tough go for the U18 Kings this past weekend as they went 1-3 in a four-game Great North U18 Hockey League set in Sault Ste. Marie.
They were clipped twice by the U18 Soo Jr. Greyhounds and split a pair vs. the U16 Greyhounds.
U18 Greyhounds 4, U18 Kings 2 – Kellan Ozerkevich and Jackson Walker notched the Thunder Bay tallies prior to the Soo striking twice late, including one into an open net, to secure the victory.
Espen Escasa, who leads the GNU18HL in offensive production, scored once on Kings’ starter Nolan Meadows, then set-up the game-winner, for the Hounds.
U18 Kings 2, U16 Greyhounds 1 (OT) – Trailing going into the third period, captain Sawyer Smith tied it to force overtime, then notched the deciding marker to give the Kings the triumph.
Kainaan MacGillivray picked up the win in net for Thunder Bay.
U18 Greyhounds 5, U18 Kings – Buoyed by a four-point night from Escasa, the Soo roared back for the result after falling behind early.
Michael Figliomeni had the lone tally in defeat while Meadows was between the pipes.
U16 Greyhounds 6, U18 Kings 4 – Capping off trip, the Kings were outscored by the hometown Soo U16s.
The Greyhounds sprinted out to a 3-0 lead after one, only to see Thunder Bay counter with a trio of tallies of their own in the middle stanza, off the sticks of Nate Girvin; Luke Siciliano and Nathan Vita.
Breaking the deadlock midway through the final frame, the Soo struck twice to retake the lead for good.
After Figliomeni got the Kings’ back to within one on the power play, the Hounds iced it with a man advantage effort of their own in the waning moments to wrap things up.
Thunder Bay defenceman Ben Paddington dished out three assists in the setback, with MacGillivray starting in goal.
Reegan Dezordo was stellar for the Soo as he scored twice and helped set-up three others in the win.
The Kings next GNU18HL match-ups go Jan. 23-25 in Sudbury.
U18 Kings GNU18L schedule/results
SCHEDULE
Friday, Jan. 16
U14: vs. Central Ontario Wolves 9:20 a.m. (Clarkson)
U15: vs. Brantford 99ers 12:15 p.m. (Corbasson West)
U13: vs. Grand Rapids Giffins 12:15 p.m. (Super Rinks)
U14: vs. Belle Tire 5:10 p.m. (Glen Abbey)
U15: vs. Niagara North Stars 8:05 p.m. (Sixteen Mile)
Saturday, Jan. 17
U14: vs. Oakville Rangers 7 a.m. (Corbasson East)
U13: vs. Minnetonka Skippers 9:15 a.m. (Super Rinks)
U15: vs. Chatham-Kent Cyclones 3:15 p.m. (Erin Mills)
U13: vs. Northwest Chargers 5:55 p.m. (Super Rinks)
U14: vs. T.B.A.
U15: vs. T.B.A.
Sunday, Jan. 18
U13: vs. Rosemount Irish 9:25 a.m. (Super Rinks)
Monday, Jan. 19
U13: vs. T.B.A. (Super Rinks)
Photo credit: James Mirabelli
Hockey
U18 Roster Announcement
