GAME DAY RECAP: March 19, 2023

Ontario Hockey Academy U17 Maroon (5) vs Mount Academy U17 (3) Eastern U17 Championships Final

Ontario Hockey Academy (OHA) U17 Maroon captured the programs first ever Canadian Sport School Hockey League (CSSHL) Eastern Championship with a 5-3 win over Mount Academy U17 Sunday in the U17 Eastern Championship Final.

Both teams felt each other out in the opening minutes of the game before the last four minutes of the period saw three goals scored. Brayden Besner (1G, 1A) got OHA on the board with a goal on a 3-on-2. Justin Gregoire (1G, 3A) would extend the lead two minutes later, banking the puck in off Oliver Kiraly (20/24). On a 3-on-2 of their own, Mount would find their first goal with 11 seconds in the period as Tristan St. Gelais found the back of the net.

OHA scored the lone second period goal as Takanobu Hiraga took a William Gosselin (2G, 3A) feed and buried it on the power play.

Vincenzo Di Rocco (1G, 2A) gave Mount life, scoring 2:26 into the third as they began to dominate the period. Looking for the tying goal, Mount was caught cheating and Gosselin was sent in all alone, making no mistake and extending the lead midway through the third. Aiden Diamond would score for Mount with 1:10 left but a Gosselin empty net goal just 30 seconds later secured OHA the championship.

Bourget College were the first ever winners of the U17 Eastern Championship’s last season but did not compete in the division this year.

Pilot Mound Hockey Academy (3) vs North Shore U18 (10) Prep Consolation

Ocean Angus had a six-point game for the North Shore Warriors, scoring two goals and adding four assists. Jordan Young had a hat-trick and a helper, Levin Mcleod had a goal and three assists and Dawson Cote picked up three points with a goal and two assists. Ayden Fenske made 25 saves to pick up the win between the pipes for North Shore, while Wesley Jones had three assists for Pilot Mound Hockey Academy in the loss. 

Edge School (1) vs RHA Winnipeg (5) U16 Prep Western Championships Final

It was an eventful first period for each side in the U16 finals. OHA’s Simon Cecconi (1G) would draw first blood off of an error, but RHA Winnipeg would strike right back. Carson Legault (3G) potted home two goals in 11-seconds to give his squad the lead after one period of play.

Into the second frame, RHA Winnipeg continued to display their dominance after an early jolt from OHA. Koy Funk (1G) would deflect home a point shot from Josh McGregor (1A) and Legault would bury a one-timer to seal off his hat-trick performance. Jonah Tonhauser (9/9) would come in relief for Conner Nicolson (31/36), but would later return to the bench after suffering an injury on an awkward play along the side of the net. Nicolson would come back into the game right before surrendering one to Kayden Turner (1G, 1A). With this marker, Turner has set the record for most points produced at the CSSHL U16 Western Championships with 15. (5G, 10A).

RHA Winnipeg comfortably drifted through the third with their 4 goal cushion, easing on the gas pedal and cruising to capture the program’s first CSSHL title.

Mount Academy U18 Prep (2) vs Bourget College U18 (3) U18 Eastern Championships Final

Bourget College captured their first ever Canadian Sport School Hockey League (CSSHL) U18 Eastern Championship with a 3-2 win over Mount Academy U18 Prep.

After defeating the defending champions Mount Academy U18 Varsity in the semi-final, Bourget became the second team to capture the U18 Eastern Championship which was handed out last season for the first time. The majority of the Bourget U18 team this season was part of the championship winning U17 Bourget team last season.

Wesley Vandine started the scoring 2:55 into the first to give Mount Academy the early lead. Simon Kobylecki would respond less than four minutes later for Bourget as the first period ended tied 1-1.

After a few huge saves from Kristian Lefsrud-Coombs (27/29), Matt Burns would give Bourget the lead midway through the second and Rafael Cloutier would score the eventual game winner just 1:43 later.

Landon Tretheway would score 5:03 into the third as Mount climbed to within one but Lefsrud-Coombs would continue to make some key stops as Bourget would hang on for the 3-2 victory.

Coeur d’Alene Hockey Academy (10) vs Notre Dame (2) U18 Prep Consolation

Both Lance Insko and Ripley Garden had four-point games for Coeur d’Alene Hockey Academy, scoring two goals and two assists each. James Ghebbari notched two tallies and an assist, as well. Remi Lepalme and Whittaker Heart had a goal and two assists apiece, while Kaiden Jackson (1g, 1a) and Blake Francione both scored to round it out. Rhys Osicki registered both goals for Notre Dame in the loss.

Edge School (3) vs RHA Kelowna (1) U18 Prep Western Championships Final

Edge School defeated RINK Hockey Academy Kelowna 3-1 to capture their sixth Canadian Sport School Hockey League (CSSHL) U18 Prep Western Championship Sunday.

 Having last won in 2016/17, Edge won four straight championships from 2009-2013, the first four years the CSSHL operated.

 Tensions were high entering Sunday’s CSSHL U18 Final, a rematch of an earlier round-robin matchup that saw RHA Kelowna squeeze by in overtime.

 The first period did not disappoint with back-and-forth action keeping each team on their toes. It was not until RHA Kelowna’s Jace Harder brought it over the blueline before handing it off to Callas Pierce who rifled one home to initiate the scoring. Edge School would later respond with a fortunate bounce off an RHA Kelowna defender, with the goal being credited to Hayden Harsanyi (1G, 1A).

 Edge School started to apply the offensive pressure entering the second, and RHA Kelowna was offering the chances, including a double-minor and a major penalty. The story of the second would be altered if it was not for Evan Gardner (42/45), making 18 saves alone in the second period to keep Edge School at bay.

 Edge School’s pressure continued fiercely into the third where eventually Gardner’s brick wall would spring a leak. Terik Parascak (2G) countered on a 2-on-1 and sniped one under Gardner’s glove to score a go-ahead goal.

 RHA Kelowna would later find themselves in more penalty trouble thus extinguishing their chance to create something until the tail end of the third. RHA Kelowna was able to spark some chances at 6-on-5 but nothing was getting by Noah Davis (11/12). Parascak would fire home the empty netter thus sealing Edge School’s U18 Prep championship.