Joey Payeur
The one-night hometown favourites departed with a long-awaited trophy in tow but left behind some indelible memories with local hockey fans.
Cody McFarlane had the only goal of a shootout to carry the fourth-ranked Belle River Nobles to a thrilling 3-2 win over the third-seeded St. Mary’s Crusaders (Hamilton) last night in the gold-medal final of the OFSAA ‘A/AA’ boys’ hockey championship at the Ice For Kids Arena.
“It hasn’t quite hit me yet. This is unreal,” said McFarlane, the Nobles’ captain who picked the right spot to the glove side of Crusaders’ goalie Jack McGovern in the third round of the five-round shootout.
It gave Belle River its first-ever OFSAA boys’ hockey crown after never having advanced past the quarter-finals before.
“I’ve been with this team for four years now and to be able to lead this team this year is absolutely amazing,” McFarlane added.
Patrick Timpany, meanwhile, thwarted all five Crusaders in the breakaway duel–the first time the title has been decided in a shootout.
“I was told at the beginning of the playoffs by my gym teacher, Mr. Hlady, if they don’t score, they don’t win,” noted Timpany, who was unbeatable after giving up Anthony Piccolo’s second goal of the game seven minutes into the second period during a power play that put the Crusaders up 2-1.
“I knew the guys could come back and pot a few goals if I could just hold them in,” he said.
Belle River, which had most of the roughly 800 spectators on hand cheering for the small-town squad over the big-city Crusaders, didn’t get a few goals–but did get the one it needed with 1:17 left in regulation time.
On the second of back-to-back penalties to St. Mary’s (a too-many-men-on-the-ice call), the Nobles brought Timpany to the bench for an extra attacker.
It paid off in spades when Colton O’Brien dragged the puck around an oncoming defender near the Crusaders’ blueline, then waited just long enough for a shooting lane to open up before whipping a wrist shot just inside the left post for his second goal of the game.
“For a Grade 10 player, he is so poised,” Nobles’ head coach Dave Bracken said of O’Brien.
“He’s really come a long way this year, and he’s been a workhorse and a warrior for us at this tournament.”
In the bronze-medal game earlier yesterday, the seventh-seeded Holy Cross Raiders (St. Catharines) earned a 3-1 win over the 12th-ranked Immaculata Saints (Ottawa).
Both those teams emerged from Pool ‘A,’ which was the same pool the Muskies were in.
