THUNDER BAY – Day 1 of the All-Ontario U15 AAA championship at the Fort William Gardens is in the books and the Vaughan Kings of the Greater Toronto Hockey League made an early statement with a pair of impressive victories to begin competition.
Here’s a recap of the on-ice action through Thursday:
Vaughan Kings 9, Soo Jr. Greyhounds 1: A five-goal first period barrage sent Vaughan on their way to a one-sided result over Sault Ste. Marie.
A big effort from forward Thomas Luksic saw him notch a hat trick and dish out a pair of assists to pace the Kings offensively.
They also saw Nikolaos Fegaras and Lucas Caruso tally twice while Philip Madonna and Grady Riley added singles.
The lone goal-scorer for the Jr. Greyhounds was Hayden Brason-Doan.
Thunder Bay Kings 4, Elgin-Middlesex Canucks 4: A furious finish saw Thunder Bay strike three times in the last two minutes of the final stanza to pull out a come from behind tie with Elgin-Middlesex.
Blake Hammond and Cameron Marcy staked the Canucks to a 2-0 lead midway through the match-up, before Ryder Milani put the Kings on the board prior to the second intermission.
After Elgin-Middlesex extended their lead in the third from Taylor MacPherson and Jacob Smith, they were seemingly in control.
Cuing the Thunder Bay comeback, Aidan Lane brought the hosts to within two with 1:39 to go.
Continuing to press, Bentlee Wiwcharyk connected in the final minute before Milani banged in the equalizer with 23 seconds left on the clock.
Alex Simeoni and Cullen McCormack aided the cause with two assists each.
York-Simcoe Express 6, Ottawa Jr. 67s 3: York-Simcoe scored twice in each period to start their provincials on a winning note in their triumph versus Ottawa.
Ryo Han found the back of the next twice for the Express, with Jack Torresan, Lucas Reid, Beckett Hawthorne and Reed Budgell also converting for York-Simcoe.
Caleb Lang, Brody Hunter and Keiya De Verno were the Jr. 67’s marksmen.
Soo Thunderbirds 5, Elgin-Middlesex Canucks 3: The Soo built up a 4-0 lead before withstanding a late Elgin-Middlesex push in improving to 1-1 on the day.
A well-balanced attack saw five different skaters score for the Jr. Greyhounds.
Their goal-getters were Jayden Fisher-Ruck, Dante Caruso, Barratt McCabe, Lukas Maninos and Wyatt Jarrett.
Answering in the back half of the third for the Canucks were Andrew Adziga, Tyson Orr and Marcy.
Vaughan Kings 5, Thunder Bay Kings 0: Vaughan received shutout goaltending from Blake Farrell while Drew Stewart and Samuel Frappier potted a pair apiece helping their club improve to 2-0.
Frappier gave Vaughan an early lead to put them up by one after the first period.
The GTHL title holders then added another a few shifts into the second stanza thanks to Stewart, before Andrew Kourtis made it 3-0 heading into the intermission with a buzzer beater.
Stewart at even strength and Frappier, while shorthanded, then clicked in the final frame as Thunder Bay starting netminder Declan Scott was kept busy throughout in defeat.
UPCOMING GAMES
Friday, April 10
Elgin-Middlesex vs. York-Simcoe 10 a.m.
Ottawa vs. Vaughan 12 p.m.
Soo vs. Thunder Bay 2 p.m.
York-Simcoe vs. Vaughan 5 p.m.
Elgin-Middlesex vs. Ottawa 7 p.m.
Saturday, April 11
York-Simcoe vs. Soo 10 a.m.
Thunder Bay vs. Ottawa 12 p.m.
Elgin-Middlesex vs. Vaughan 2 p.m.
Ottawa vs. Soo 5 p.m.
York-Simcoe vs. Thunder Bay 7 p.m.
Sunday, April 12
Semifinal No. 1: 4th round robin vs. 1st round robin 9 a.m.
Semifinal No. 2: 3rd round robin vs. 2nd round robin 11 a.m.
Bronze medal game: 4 p.m.
Gold/Silver medal game: 6:30 p.m.
Photo credit: James Mirabelli
