Sun County collects win over Ottawa Valley at U13 provincials

THUNDER BAY – The Sun County Panthers gained and early lead and never trailed as they went on to defeat the Ottawa Valley Titans 5-2 Thursday evening in Day 2 competition at the All-Ontario under-13 AAA championship, presented by BioSteel, at the Fort William Gardens.

Getting off to a solid start, the Panthers struck twice on the power play in the first period, thanks to man advantage efforts from Gianluca McClure and Matthew Taylor.

Extending their lead early in the middle stanza, Carter Trudell notched the eventual game-winner, a minute and a half in.

Up a skater a few shifts later, Miller Zavitske put the Titans on the board, with help from teammates Rory Shaughnessy and Calen Gorr.

Shaughnessy then brought Ottawa Valley back to within one with 3:26 left in regulation, only to see Sun County’s Trudell answer that just 27 seconds later.

McClure then capped off the victory with an empty netter in the final minute.

Picking up the win in net for the Panthers was Noah Spiteri while Darcy O’Hare suffered the setback for OVT.

Player of the game laurels went to Trudell and Titans defenceman Cameron Binks.

Photo credit: James Mirabelli