The Niagara Ball Hockey Club welcomed teams from across Ontario as well as a couple of teams from south of the border in New Jersey this past weekend as some of the top youth players competed for their chance to be crowned an Ontario Youth Champion. There were 21 teams competing across four divisions based on age groups, with no two age categories being won by the same city or township.
Thank you to all players, coaches, parents & spectators for a great weekend all around. We hope to see all teams return next year, and welcome new teams to make next year's event even better.
Event Photos:
This weekend's winners are listed below:
Coaches: Brian Heus, Wade Stafford, Derek Crowthers
Team Roster: Arthur Belanger, Cole Crowthers, Campbell Harmsworth, Ashton Heus, Landon Heus, Jayden Kewell, Kaleb Kewell, Garrett Liddiard, Jhovanny Orellana, Seth Ranieri, Levi Roest, Travis Savoie, Carter Secord, Logan Stafford, Dyson Vandelaar, & Kadeam Williams.
The Niagara Storm defeated Barrie Dry Ice Danglers 7-4 in a back & forth championship game, ending with two empty-net goals. The two teams had battled to a 3-3 draw earlier in the round robin.
Coaches: John Gallen, Chris Convery
Team Roster: Brandon Clark, Dylan Convery, Ryan Convery, Brady Dunn, Matthew Egan, Michael Ermel, William Gallen, Aidan Higgins, Liam Higgins, Tristan Hoffstrom, Ryan McCormick, Zack McErlain, Carson O'Connell, Michael Stettler, Sean Tolentino.
The GT Panthers capped their undefeated weekend with Brady Dunn scoring a hat-trick in the first period en route to a 10-2 win in the championship game over the local Dusty Flambos.
Coaches: Ted Wilson, Dion Sheppard, Chris Lewis
Team Roster: Ben Battaglia, Avery Bernardi, Matt Burnett, Jamieson Craig, Hunter Godmere, Daniel Greeley, Alex Henry, Brett Hodgson, Nolan Hodgson, Brendan Kennedy, Adam Lewis, Chase Marklinger, Jeremy Saint, Logan Sheppard, Adam Soos, Kip Wilson.
The Barrie Vipers & GT Panthers met for the second time this weekend in the Championship game. The round robin game was a physical battle. In the final, Barrie jumped to a 2-0 lead, before the GT Panthers made it 2-1 at the start of the 3rd period. Barrie added 3 more, winning the Championship with a 5-1 victory.
Coaches: Chad Mack, Dean Strong, Michael Villella, Michael Prytula
Team Roster: Noah Belanger, Noah Caperchione, Josh Croteau, Anthony Dagostino, Chris Dinnocenzo, Sam Leclair, Daniel Legault, David Legault, Nolan Lynds, Dylan Main, Dallas McKee, Ty Stadnyk, Brodie Thomas, Nick Vilella, Hunter Wilson, Orion Woychenko.
The weekend's U18 final came down between the Welland Knights & Niagara Aces, two teams familiar with each other through various tournaments. The game was a penalty filled affair with the Aces getting into some late penalty trouble allowing the Knights to score two powerplay goals to seal the deal.
FINALISTS
To see this weekend's full results, please visit our event page.
See everyone at next year's event!