By Carl Chimenti
LONDON MAJOR PEEWEE JR. KNIGHTS WIN SHANAHAN TOURNEY
The Alliance Minor Hockey Association was well represented and put on a strong showing at the 2009 Shanahan International AAA Hockey Tournament, which took place the weekend of Nov. 13 to 15, in Mississauga, Ont.
The London Jr. Knights captured the Major Peewee division crown, beating the Ottawa Valley Titans 4-2 in the championship game; both the Chatham Kent Cyclones and the Sun County Panthers had a nice run before they bowed out in the quarter-finals.
It was a perfect ride for the Jr. Knights, winning all three round robin games and then following that up with a come-from-behind 6-4 “Sweet 16th” win over the Titans.
London then dispatched the York Simcoe Express in the semi-finals before winning the title with a second win over Ottawa Valley.
“I thought it was a great tournament from a competitive standpoint and the boys basically displayed terrific accountability, especially in the “Sweet 16” game, overcoming a 4-0 deficit with six unanswered goals,” said an elated head coach Dean Bryson, as London continued its dominant play, running their unbeaten streak to 16 games and season record to 14-0-2.
“From a development point of view, I was really happy because words alone could not give them the experience they received in this tournament which helped propel us to winning the championship.”
This season, the Jr. Knights have been strong in all facets of their game and they displayed that in the tournament.
“We are quite sound both offensively and defensively,” said Bryson about the teams potent offence that has scored 71 goals and their stingy defence which has allowed only 18 goals.
“The team has utilized a strong breakout and everyone has bought into a team philosophy that we established at the beginning of the season.”
FIVE ALLIANCE ALUM MAKE TEAM ONTARIO U-17 TEAM
Five former members of the Alliance Minor Hockey Association have been named to Team Ontario Men’s U-17 roster—one defencemen and four forwards.
All five were first round selections at the 2009 OHL priority draft and are currently plying their trade in the Ontario Hockey League.
Curtis Crombeen is the lone defencemen and hails from Sarnia, Ont. The former Lambton JR. Sting was selected ninth overall by the Owen Sound Attack.
Forward Carter Sandlak was an 11th overall pick by the Guelph Storm and a member of the London Jr. Knights last year.
Other forwards included Peterborough Petes sixth overall selection, Matt Puempel from the Sun County Panthers; Boone Jenner from the Elgin Middlesex Chiefs was the fourth overall choice of the Oshawa Generals; and Garrett Meurs, from the Huron Perth Lakers, was selected by the Plymouth Whalers, 13th overall.
“It makes us real proud because they are part of our Alliance association that include, team associations like Lambton, London, Sun County Elgin Middlesex and Huron Perth,” said Alliance executive director, Tony Martindale. “It’s a tribute to those associations to have a development program to bring those kids to an elite level.”
Team Ontario will compete at the 2010 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, to be held in Timmins, Ont. from Dec. 29 through Jan. 4.
KNIGHTS GOLD RANKED SIXTH FOR OHL SHOWCASE
Now four weeks into the rankings, the Alliance Minor Hockey Association has three teams in the mix for one of the coveted spots in the OHL Showcase Tournament.
The London Jr. Knights Gold are currently ranked sixth, while the Huron-Perth Lakers and the Elgin-Middlesex Chiefs received honorable mentions for the tournament that will include champions and finalists from the GTHL, OMHA, ODMHA NOHA and Alliance. The tournament will be held at the Hershey Centre in Mississauga, Ont., March 17 to 21, 2010.
ST. THOMAS TOURNAMENT RESULTS
Congratulations to the winners of the St. Thomas Minor Tournament.
The event took place Nov. 20 to 23, at the St. Thomas Elgin Memorial Arena.
The winners were Novice A – St. Thomas Jr. Stars, Atom AE – Oshawa Minor Generals, Peewee AE – Kitchener Jr. Rangers, Bantam AE – Tecumseh Eagles, and Midget AE – Hamilton Blizzard.
DECEMBER TOURNAMENTS HEATS UP
The first weekend of Dec. (4 to 6) will feature several tournaments
The third annual REP MD in Burlington, Ont. The Appleby Arena will be the main host and will feature teams at the Novice MD, Minor Atom MD, Atom MD, Minor Peewee MD, Peewee MD, Minor Bantam MD, Bantam MD, Minor Midget MD, and Midget MD divisions.
The Greater Fort Erie Invitational will have 43 teams from the Major Novice, Atom, Peewee, Bantam and Midget divisions.
The 14th annual Jayden Elmore Memorial will feature teams from Novice, Atom, Peewee, Bantam and Midget, in London, Ont.
The 39th annual Gold Puck Tournament in Waterloo, Ont. will run Dec. 11 to 13 with the best teams from North America, for AAA only, competing in three divisions: Bantam, Minor Midget and Midget. |