THUNDER BAY – The Thunder Bay under-13 Kings are set to host the Kenora Thistes in the Hockey Northwestern Ontario U13 AAA Branch Championship this weekend at Fort William First Nation Arena.
Game 1 of the best-of-three affair goes Friday at 6 p.m.
Game 2 will then be held Saturday, also at 6 p.m., back at FWFNA.
Should a third and deciding contest be required, it goes Sunday at noon.
The HNO winner will then advance to the All-Ontario U13 AAA championship, April 8-12, in Waterloo.
WEEKEND WRAP: Thunder Bay’s U18 Kings finished up their initial campaign in the Great North U18 Hockey League over the weekend, falling to the Sudbury Wolves in the finale of its Play-In series.
Taking on the Timmins Majors to commence competition, Thunder Bay skated to a 6-1 victory.
Michael Figliomeni staked the club to a 1-0 following one period play, prior to Nathan Vita doubling their cushion after 40 minutes.
Breaking it open in the third, the Kings banged in four more to take control, before the Majors got one late, to round out the scoring.
Kellan Ozerkevich; Aiden Edwards; Charlie Crane and Owen Bodnar notched the Thunder Bay markers in the final frame, while Jackson Pucci dished out three assists in the triumph.
Picking up the win in net was Nolan Meadows.
Next came a 7-2 setback versus Sudbury, which set-up a rematch with Thunder Bay in Sunday’s final.
Ozerkevich, at even strength, and Ben Paddington, via the power play, were the marksmen in the loss.
In the finale, the Kings fell behind by a pair before Figliomeni cut into the deficit, with help from Mikita Dolmat, six minutes into the third period.
However, the Wolves tacked on one more deep in regulation to pull out the win.
Sudbury now moves on to compete in the GNU18HL championship tournament, which runs from Wednesday evening, through Sunday, in New Liskeard.
Up next for the U18 Kings will be the Hockey Northwestern Ontario U18 AAA Branch Championship against the Kenora Thistles, March 20-22, at Fort William First Nation Arena.
The winner there moves on to represent HNO at the TELUS Cup West Regional, April 2-5, in Regina, Sask., which will be hosted by the defending national U18 AAA champion Regina Pat Canadians.
Meanwhile, the U14 Kings dropped a three-game exhibition set against the Wisconsin Jr. Guardians in Eau Claire, Wis., falling by scores of 5-2, 5-3 and 8-4.
SCHEDULE
Friday, March 13
U13: vs. Kenora Thistles 6 p.m. (FWFNA)
Saturday, March 14
U13: vs. Kenora Thistles 6 p.m. (FWFNA)
Sunday, March 15
U13*: vs. Kenora Thistles 12 p.m. (FWFNA)
*-if necessary
Photo credit: James Mirabelli
