hunder Bay Kings AAA Hockey
Media Update
Release date: Sunday, Feb. 19, 2017
Major midget Kings finish 5th in 10-team U-18 NAPHL Dixon Cup; Minor midgets 9th in U-16
TROY, Mich. – It was a solid fifth place finish for the Thunder Bay major midget Kings at the North American Prospects Hockey League’s Dixon Cup Gold Division championship tournament in Troy, Mich., after they wrapped up play with a hard-fought 3-2 victory over the Rocky Mountain Rough Riders of Colorado in their final contest Sunday.
Seeded ninth entering the 10-team under-18 division, the Kings narrowly missed out on a semifinal berth with each of the three clubs they played in round robin action all advancing to the final four.
In all it was a very respectable performance by the major midgets in the event as they went 3-1 overall with their only blemish in four outings being a 2-1 setback vs. Omaha AAA.
The results weren’t as fortunate for the minor midgets as they finished ninth in the 10-team under-16 division with a 0-3-1 record, including a 2-1 overtime setback against Meijer AAA of Michigan Sunday.
In Thunder Bay’s under-18 triumph over Rocky Mountain, the Rough Riders got on the board 59 seconds into the contest, but the Kings countered with markers from Baldino Aiello and Robert McCollum to take a 2-1 lead into the second stanza.
In that middle frame, Rocky Mountain tied it before Quintin Loon-Stewardson buried the game-winner 1:37 into the third period to round out the scoring.
Ryan Fanti turned aside 25 of the 27 shots he faced to record the victory for Thunder Bay, who fired 29 attempts on the Rough Riders net.
In the U-16 match-up, Keighan Gerrie had the lone Kings’ tally in the extra time defeat against Meijer during a second period man advantage opportunity.
Goaltender Jordan Smith stopped 27 of 29 in the loss.
Next up for the major midget Kings will Hockey Northwestern Ontario AAA district championship March 10-12 in Kenora against the hometown Thistles while the minors will gear up for the OHL Cup, March 16-20, in Toronto.
