By Sam Laskaris /
A late entry ended up winning the Gardner Cup Challenge.
The Mississauga Jets blanked the Toronto Colts 7-0 in the championship final of the boys’ under-21 AAA showcase tournament, which concluded on Nov. 29 at Toronto’s Herb Carnegie Centennial Centre.
The Jets were not one of the 16 original clubs that were scheduled to compete at the four-day tournament. But they were invited to take part two weeks beforehand, when an American team informed tournament officials it would not be participating.
The tourney was organized by Toronto’s East Enders Ti-cats.
The host side had a rather respectable showing in the tournament. They were edged 1-0 in overtime by the Jets in their semi-final.
Mississauga’s Nick Crozier scored the game’s lone goal at the 1:26 mark of OT.
Chris Morton, who coaches the East Enders Ti-cats, didn’t seem too concerned about not advancing to the tournament’s championship final.
“From my perspective, we’re on a learning curve and we have a lot of stuff to come this year,” Morton said. “The kids are learning more and more. And that’s all I care about.”
The East Enders Ti-cats are one of the youngest teams in the GTHL’s under-21 division. The club’s roster includes three players born in 1992 and even one born in ‘94.
The hosts kicked off their tournament playing to a 1-1 tie with the Cornwall-based OHA Mavericks. Then they registered a convincing 6-1 win over the Mississauga Terriers. And they finished off their round-robin action with a 4-1 victory over the Goulding Park Rangers. |