Noah Pak of the Collingwood Blues makes a save against the Buffalo Jr. Sabres during the second annual Cottage Cup at the Eddie Bush Memorial Arena in Collingwood. Pak helped Collingwood defend its title by recording five wins, including three shutouts. (Photo by Tim Bates / OJHL Images)
The Collingwood Blues have picked up right where they left off: winning a championship on home ice.
The defending Ontario Junior Hockey League champions won the second annual Cottage Cup title at Eddie Bush Memorial Arena in downtown Collingwood Wednesday.
The Blues blanked the Carleton Place Canadians 2-0 in the championship game of the preseason showcase.
NCAA Division I Yale commit Noah Pak, the MVP of the 2023 OJHL playoffs, made 24 saves for his third shutout of the tournament. Jack Rimmer and Ryan Cook scored.
Pak, 20, went 5-0 at the Cup with a 0.40 goals-against average.
Rimmer scored four times and added two assists to lead the Blues’ offense.
Collingwood won the 2022 Cottage Cup with a 2-0 win over the North York Rangers in the final game.
This year’s three-day event, co-hosted by the Blues and the OJHL, featured eight teams from the OJHL, Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League, Central Canada Hockey League and Germany.
Collingwood recorded three shutouts on Tuesday, 2-0 over the OJHL’s Leamington Flyers and Buffalo Jr. Sabres and 4-0 over Jungadler Mannheim, the German entry.
The Blues defeated the NOJHL’s Timmins Rock in the quarterfinals and the OJHL’s Toronto Jr. Canadiens in the semifinals, both by 4-1 scores, Wednesday.
The OJHL regular season begins Sept. 7.
