Tigers earn silver medal
The Orangeville midget B Tigers kicked off their season with a silver medal at the Fall Classics tournament in Oshawa, Sept. 26 to 28.
The Tigers began the tournament against the Barrie Sharks. Late in the third period the Tigers set up a beautiful passing play that led to a goal from Amy Rundle, assisted by Kristen Watts and Amanda Kozluk. This got the Tigers moving and later on in the third period Carolyn Hazell took a shot from the slot to beat the Sharks goalie and give the Tigers a 2-0 lead. The game ended with a 2-0 win for the Tigers, with stellar goaltending from April McLay, who earned the shutout.
The following day the girls came face-to-face with the Mississauga Chiefs, who they had previously played in an exhibition game to a 2-2 tie. The game ended in a 0-0 tie with great efforts from every girl on the team and another amazing game from goalie McLay.
The next game’s opponent for the Tigers was Flamborough, and Orangeville trailed 1-0 in the first period until Meghan Houghton took a shot from the blue line and scored, assisted by Liz Fallowfield. The game remained a tie until the last 18 seconds of the game when Flamborough pulled their goalie, as they needed the win to continue to the semifinals. Rundle shot from the centre line to score the winning goal with assists going to Amanda Kozluk and goalie McLay.
The semifinal on Sunday was against the North Halton Twisters. The Tigers went into the game knowing exactly what they had to do to get the win. The game remained scoreless until the third period when Watts scored with assists from Kozluk and Rundle.
The final game had Orangeville meeting Mississauga again. The game was well fought with an incredible effort from the entire team. It ended at 1–0 with silver for Orangeville and a team very proud of how much they accomplished in their first tournament as a team.
Tigers coach Jim Masse and the rest of the coaching staff were thrilled with the effort displayed by the team. The defence of Samantha Horner, Carolyn Hazell, Lindsay Houghton, Danielle Darrah and Melissa Visser, along with goalie April McLay, kept the goals against to a bare minimum. The forwards, Meghan Houghton, Robyn Masse, Chelsea Jardine, Leslie McIntosh, Beth Thomlinson, Liz Fallowfield, Kristen Watts, Amy Rundle and Amanda Kozluk played some great hockey to achieve their silver win. They are looking forward to the start of the regular season.
Flyers defeat rival Hawks
The Orangeville minor atom AE Flyers started the year with a bang, defeating main rival Caledon Hawks 2-1.
The first period was a virtual stalemate, with strong defensive plays coming from both teams. By the start of the second, it was clear that the Hawks were starting to lose some of their strength. Patrick Williams broke the stalemate by popping one in unassisted in the dying minutes of the second. Despite some amazing goaltending by Simon Bowyer and Cameron O’Gorman, Caledon’s Siskos snuck one in just after the second horn blew.
The Flyers had the final say with Dallas Montgomery banging in the game winner at 6:23 of the third with help from a textbook pass from Williams and Matthew Zoltec. The 2-1 win showed the Flyers play as a cohesive team with the ability to beat last year’s best team.
The Flyers took to the ice Oct. 4 for their second home game of the year on the heels of a 1-0 win in Stoney Creek, with Ben Vanzant scoring a breakaway goal in the dying seconds of the game.
The objective was to play hard and create more chances. Entertaining the Rangers from Oakville, both teams came out hard. Despite Orangeville having the lead in shots and chances, the first frame remained scoreless.
Halfway through the second period Orangeville’s Artie Lafontaine blocked a clearing
attempt inside Oakville’s blue line, and ripped a hard shot at the net that hit the Ranger goalie and went into the top corner. The lead was short-lived when Oakville tied the game less than a minute later on a deflection over O’Gorman. The second period would remain tied at one with the shots in favour of Oakville.
The Flyers would own the third period. Two minutes into the period Orangeville’s Vanzant potted a wrist shot, assisted by John Viveros and Connor Allen. Within 90 seconds Dallas Montgomery blasted in a shot on a rebound off the post from Frankie Meli.
A minute later Alex Kampen shovelled one five-hole, giving the Flyers their fourth goal of the game. Connor Allen and Artie Lafontaine drew assists.
Orangeville dominated the third in shots and chances to earn the 4-1 victory. O’Gorman played great in goal, and the Flyers had one of their best games of the season.
Three wins for novice Flyers
The Orangeville novice AA Flyers rebounded from their season opening loss to Flamborough by reeling off three convincing wins last week.
The Flyers hosted Guelph in their home opener on Monday night and dominated in a 10-1 victory. Orangeville controlled the play in the first period, but could only build a 2-0 lead. The Flyers scored three goals in the first minute of the second period before the Storm netted a late goal, giving Orangeville a 5-1 lead going into the third. It would be more of the same story in the final period, as the Flyers added five more goals before the final buzzer.
Kyle Whitton, Ryan Boon, Elgin Cooke and Evan Moore led the way with three points each, while Ryan Bowie, Owen Robinson, Brendan Chapman, Dakota Zarudny and Devon Dunkerley had two point nights. Tristan Williams and Justin Stairs rounded out the scoring with a point a piece.
Liam McIllwraith was solid in goal, picking up the win.
Two nights later, Orangeville was at home to Oakville and came out with a tight 4-2 win. After a scoreless first period, Orangeville scored the only goal of the second period to take a 1-0 lead into the third. Oakville would tie the game early in the third before the two teams traded goals to tie it 2-2. The Flyers would score the eventual game winner with just over two minutes remaining and an empty net goal in the last minute to seal the victory.
Robinson paced the attack picking up three points, and Bowie had a two-point game. Zarudny, Cooke, Chapman and Whitton chipped in with single points.
On Friday night the Flyers travelled to Stoney Creek and played a very controlling game, winning 7-0 and limiting the Warriors to just three shots. Orangeville scored three goals on only three shots in the first, added a goal in the second and three more in the third.
Robinson and Zarudny picked up three points each while Kurtis Cotton and Bowie gathered two points each. Tanner Buck, Whitton, Boon, and Cooke finished off the scoring with a point a piece. McIllwraith picked up his first shutout of the season for the Flyers.
Orangeville will participate in a tournament in Georgetown on the weekend.
Flyers win in St. Catharines
The Orangeville minor atom Flyers travelled to St. Catharines to face the Falcon’s for the first time.
The Flyers were quick to get on the board with a goal from Antonio Traetto, assisted by Ty Inglis and Blake Ciappara. The Flyers would control most of the game but wouldn’t net another until late in the third. Shane Price scored on the rush assisted by Dustyn Pratt and Even Kiser. Deacon Lawr recorded his second shutout in as many games.