Ben Pickell of Team OJHL Oates tries to keep the puck from Julien Wasmer of Team CCHL Robinson during Oates’ 4-2 win at the Eastern Canada Cup All-Star Challenge in Trenton Tuesday. Pickell, of the Pickering Panthers, was named his team’s player of the game. (Photo by Ray MacAloney / OJHL Images)
By Ron Valentine
Going into play on the second day of the Eastern Canada Cup All-Star Challenge in Trenton Tuesday, the standings were:
GROUP A
CCHL Robinson- 1 win, 1 shootout win, 4 points
LHJAAAQ St. Louis- 1 win, 3 points
MHL South- 1 win, loss, 3 points
NOJHL East- 1 shootout loss, 1 point
OJHL Oates- 2 losses, 0 points
GROUP B
OJHL Hawerchuk 2 wins, 4 points
LHJAAAQ Perron 1 win, 3 points
CCHL Yzerman 1 shootout win, 1 loss, 2 points
MHL North 1 shootout loss, 1 points
NOJHL West 2 losses, 0 points
Game 1 of Day 2 saw LHJAAAQ St. Louis facing off against NOJHL East and they would ring up their second win in a 4-1 final. Valleyfield Braves Vincent Gauthier had the game winner. The St.-Zotique native is a former Halifax Moosehead and Shawinigan Cataract. Getting the first hat trick of the tournament was Alexandre Lamarre of Cegep Beauce-Appalache Condors. His coach at club level and for this tournament, Jonathan Ferland, had this to say about Alexandre: “He is a strong power forward who protects the puck very well and creates a lot of scoring chances for himself and also for his teammates. And on today’s game: “I got great performances from our players today, they recovered the game plan and it paid off in the second half.”
Game 2 saw LHJAAAQ Perron meet up with the MHL North and this one would go to a shootout where Olivier Tourchot’s goal gave Perron the victory. Down 2-1 it took a late goal from Mathis Cloutier (Saint-Jerome) to force the one-on-one session. Other scorers were blueliner Felix Poulin (Montreal Rangers) for the Quebec side and Keifer Lyons of the Campbellton Tigers and Miramichi Timberwolves’ Will Allen, on the powerplay, for the MHL team. Allen and the aforementioned Lamarre had honourable mentions in the CJHL stars of the month for October.
Game 3 had the OJHL Oates, in search of their first win, against the unbeaten CCHL Robinson. The Oates team produced a very strong first period with goals from blueliners Calum Chau of the Collingwood Blues and David Green of the St. Michael’s Buzzers along with Halburton Huskies captain Patrick Saini, who would end with a three-point game. The Oates continued making themselves heard in the second period with a Mark McIntosh goal before Jace Letourneau (Renfrew) spoiled the shutout bid of the Leamington Flyers’ Sebastian Gatto, who ended up with 25 saves. Davis Hails (Smiths Falls) got a late one for the Robinson’s in the 4-2 final. Ex-OHLer Taeo Artichuk from the hometown Trenton Golden Hawks replaced injured Buzzers’ forward Jonathan Morello on the squad.
Coach Andrew Campoli was happier today: “This morning we played the right way and did the little things right that got us the win.” A win Wednesday against NOJHL East will lift the team to the .500 mark.
McIntosh on the game and his goal: “Our coaches obviously wanted more from the group today after two tough games yesterday and I thought the team responded really well today. My goal came on the powerplay with teammates from Collingwood that I’m familiar with. I was in front of the net and just banged home the rebound.” Chau’s goal got the team on a roll, he said: “We played a complete game today from start to finish, the boys were playing physical hockey and doing all the little things right. I was happy to get the opening goal. I saw some open ice and took it, ‘Macker’ gave me a slick pass through the defensive triangle and I was able to finish it off.”
In Game 4 the NOJHL West were looking for their first victory with CCHL Yzerman at the other end but they were denied again in the 4-2 final scoreline and will not advance to the semifinals. Ex-Soo Greyhound, now Cornwall Colt, Ethan Montroy early in period two scored the winner. Blind River Beaver Jesse Dupuis had a shorthanded goal for the NOJHL.
Yzerman GM Marty Abrams was upbeat after the win: “I thought we came out with a lot more jump today. We played with pace and intensity. A good team win.”
The NOJHL East got past the MHL South 4-3 in Game 5 and, in doing so, moved into third spot in Group A with four points from three games. Three goals in a span of just over two minutes late in period one saw the NOJHL squad holding a 2-1 advantage. The MHLers got back to 4-3 down courtesy of a shorthanded marker from Valley Wildcats’ Brendan MacRitchie with just 17 seconds left in the second session but could not get any further. Scoring the game winner for NOJHL East was Oakville native Liam Boswell of the Hearst Lumberjacks.
In Game 6, aiming for three straight wins, OJHL Hawerchuk met up with the MHL North. Team Hawerchuk assured themselves of a semifinal spot while the MHL team will not advance. Braeden Shaikh, from the Toronto Patriots, recorded the shutout, the second in three games for the Hawerchuks. In the 3-0 win the goalscorers were Alex Hebblethwaite, Andy Reist and defenceman Will Gourgouvelis. Reist’s two-point game gave him five for the tournament to put him, temporarily, in first place on the points race.
In their three games to date, the Hawerchuks have outscored the opposition 10-3 with 13 of their players contributing at least one point.
Game 7 saw CCHL Robinson edge LHJAAAQ St. Louis 3-2 on a late goal from Kemptville 73’s Ty Whyte, an RIT commit for next season. With the victory the Robinson’s moved to the top of Group A with eight points, to complete their schedule and in the process guarantee themselves a semifinal position.
Wrapping up day 2 it was all CCHL Yzerman as they shutout LHJAAAQ Perron 4-0. The Quebec team needed a win to ensure themselves of a semifinal spot. CCHL Yzerman went ahead in a hurry on goals from Kobe Tallman, in his 4th season with the Cornwall Colts. Kobe would add another in the third for his hat trick. Fellow Colt, 16-year-old goalie Donald Hickey from Conception Bay NF, made 24 saves. Remi Gelinas (Hawkesbury) had the other goal in the 4-0 final.
Still some questions to be answered Wednesday in the four concluding round-robin games leading up to the semifinals at 3:40 p.m. when the second place finishers in Group B meet the first place team in Group A. At 5:20, the second-place team from Group A will face the winners of Group B. The game to decide the champion goes at 7.
All games are live-streamed on FloHockey. Go to: https://www.flohockey.tv/leagues/10826657-ontario-junior-hockey-league-ojhl
Follow Ron Valentine on X at @ronandlynda
