The
Capreol Midget ‘A’ Hawks were a jubilant bunch of boys at the
conclusion of the 26th Annual Capreol Midget Hockey Tournament
on February 11. Not only had they come up with their best game of the
season in edging out their arch rivals, the Sudbury Cortina Wolves, but
they became the first Capreol team to ever win the midget division of
their tournament.
Capreol’s Trevor Lennox broke the ice just over one minute into the
championship game when he took a pass from Brad Degagne and put the home
club up 1 - 0. The game went end to end with Capreol goaltender, David
Dicarlantonio robbing the Wolves time and time again with tremendous glove
and pad saves. His hard work paid off and finally Ryan Mussen put the home
club up 2 to 0 with five minutes remaining in the second period when he
was set up by Troy LaJambe and Keegan Pacey. Cortina Wolves clawed their
way back to within one goal before the end of the 2nd when Cory
Laderoute finally beat Dicarlantonio. Halfway through the 3rd
period, Lennox took a beautiful pass from Rory Kelly and put Capreol up by
two goals. The way
Dicarlantonio was playing, the two goal lead looked almost insurmountable.
However, with less than four minutes remaining in the third period, the
Wolves made it interesting when Joel Marier scored to make it 3 to 2 for
Capreol. The last three minutes seemed like an eternity as the Wolves put
on a surge in an effort to tie the contest, so when the final buzzer
sounded the Capreol arena erupted with joy!
Members of the winning Capreol Hawks included: Kevin Linseman, Robbie
Greene, Brad Degagne, Rory Kelly, Ryan Foley, Troy Lajambe, Brent Dixon,
Al Giroux, Keegan Pacey, Tyler Goulais, David Dicarlantonio, Robin
Hawrelluk, Ryan Mussen, Stoan Pacey, Scott McInnis, Trevor Lennox and Dan
Sumpton. The coaching staff included Ritchie Mayotte, Chris Morris, Scot
Del Papa and Craig Dick.
To get to the finals, Capreol ended up in 2nd place among
the four team round-robin, earning victories of 3 to 2 over Quebec and 3
to 0 over Kirkland Lake. They lost a squeaker to the Wolves by a score of
1 to 0.
The Wolves won all three of their games by scores of 3 to 1 over
Quebec, 4 to 2 over Kirkland Lake and 1 - 0 over Capreol.
The Nickel Centre Flyers won the Bantam ‘AA’ division with a 6 to 2
victory over Sudbury MAR Motors.
Sudbury Red Wings captured the Midget ‘AA’
title with a 3 to 2 win over Whitby Wild Cats.
There were a number of individual awards handed
out at the conclusion of the tournament.
Capreol’s Rory Kelly won the Steve Telenko
Memorial Award, given to the Capreol midget player who best displayed
sportsmanship and ability.
The Boudreau Award, given to the Bantam player
best displaying sportsmanship and ability went to Nickel Centre’s Mike
Parolin.
The Bantam Division most valuable players
included: Forward: Quentin Recollect (Sudbury MAR Motors); Defenseman: Zak
O’Connor (Sudbury MAR Motors); Goaltenders: Ann Lapointe and David Carr
(Nickel Centre Flyers).
The Midget ‘A’ Division most valuable players
included: Forward: Corey Laderoute (Sudbury Cortina Wolves); Defenseman:
Kevin Linseman (Capreol Hawks); Goaltenders: David Dicarlantonio and Robin
Hawrelluk (Capreol Hawks).
The Midget ‘AA’ Division most valuable
players included: Forward: Nick Verkuyle (Whitby Wild Cats); Defenseman:
Randy Battachio (Sudbury Red Wings); Goaltenders: David Anderson and Ryan
Robitaille (Sudbury Red Wings).
The Mike Fleming Award for the Overall Most
Valuable Player in the tournament went to Whitby’s Nick Verkuyle.
The President’s Award, given annually to the
team which best displays sportsmanship and ability went to the Whitby Wild
Cats.