Several Fort Frances minor hockey teams took part in the ninth-annual Hockey Classic in Thunder Bay.
Here is a team-by-team review as to how each one fared at the tournament, which attracted some 110 teams and more than 2,000 players and coaches.
< *c>Skates & Blades
< *c>(Novice Minor)
Skates & Blades went the furthest of all the local teams, losing 6-5 in the championship game against the Schreiber North Stars.
They had battled back from a 4-2 third-period deficit to tie the score at 5-5 but the Stars put the game out of reach when Greg Spezlale netted the game-winner with 5:13 to play.
Kyle Turgeon was the offensive star for Skates & Blades with four goals while Zach McCool also tallied.
Skates & Blades reached the final after a 5-0 shutout over the V.P. Bearcats. Turgeon scored twice and added an assist in that one while Ben Morrisseau also netted a pair of goals.
Matthew Hebert had a goal and an assist.
Skates & Blades opened the tournament with a tight 1-0 win over the Nipigon Elks on Joe Bruyere’s goal, assisted by Blake Wepruk. Then they trounced the Neebing Ducks 9-1 on the strength of Turgeon’s four-goal performance.
Julia Martin added a hat trick while Hebert and McCool notched singles.
Skates & Blades kept up their strong defensive play in the next two games as they edged the South End Jr. Stars 2-1, then blanked the Neebing Sabres 7-0.
McCool and George Halverson scored against the Stars while Halverson and Turgeon each netted hat tricks against the Sabres. Martin got the other goal in that game.
< *c>Times Tigers
< *c>(Novice Minor)
The Times Tigers finished the tournament with a 1-1-2 record, with their lone victory a 5-2 decision over the Neebing Sharks.
Josh Sigurdson scored a pair of goals to pace the Tigers while Brent Johnson, Alex Shoemaker, and Tyson Grinsell added singles.
The Tigers opened with an 8-5 loss to the Red Rock Rangers (Sigurdson scored three times and added an assist while Steve Williams and Shoemaker also tallied), then they skated to a rare 0-0 tie with the Neebing Flames.
They also played to a 3-3 draw with the VP Bearcats (Sigurdson, Shoemaker, and Williams were the goal scorers).
< *c>KCs
< *c>(PeeWee ‘AA’)
The KCs suffered a tough loss in their semi-final game, losing 3-2 in a shootout to the Hearst Lumber Kings. Hearst had tied the game with about 10 minutes to go.
Andrew Mueller gave the KCs a 1-0 lead with 4:44 to play in the first period, assisted by Andrew George and Danny MacIntyre. Jamie Davis later scored for the KCs early in the third for a 2-1 lead.
The KCs got out to a fast start at the tournament, blitzing the Manitouwadge Copper Kings 10-0 and then trouncing the Norwest Stars 7-0.
Scoring against Manitouwadge was Mike Niskala (two), George (two), Tanner Kaemingh, Shane Belluz, MacIntyre, Marc Riordon, Davis, and Scott Bridgeman.
Belluz scored twice more against Norwest while MacIntyre, Tyler Barker, Bridgeman, Jeremy Bell, and Davis had singles.
The KCs had a much tougher time against the Elk 82s and Kenora, pulling out a pair of 2-1 victories.
Bell netted the game-winner against the Elks, assisted by Bridgeman. Belluz had scored late in the first period to tie the game at 1-1.
George was the offensive star in their game against Kenora, scoring both KC goals in a 2:48 span in the second frame (Mueller assisted both).
< *c>Lions
< *c>(PeeWee ‘A’)
The Lions had a strong showing at the tournament, losing 3-2 in a shootout in the semi-finals to eventual-champion West End Bruins #1. Sean Councillor scored both Lions goals.
They reached the semis after an exciting 4-2 win over Fort Frances Esso. Derek Jones (two), Mike Spencer, and Scott McFayden scored for the Lions while Matt Sisco and Kyle DeGagne replied for Esso.
The Lions had opened the tournament with a convincing 6-2 win over Filane’s Falcons. Larry Pham scored twice to pace the Lions while Eddie Calder chipped in a goal and assist.
Councillor, Josh Johnston, and Tyler Starling added singles.
The Lions then won a pair of close games–3-2 over the KC Leafs and 5-4 over the South End Jr. Stars. Calder scored twice and added an assist while Pham tallied once and added two assists in the win over the Leafs.
McFayden (two), Councillor, Starling, and Johnston all scored against the Stars.
< *c>Esso
< *c>(PeeWee ‘A’)
Esso was 3-0 in round-robin play before losing to the Fort Frances Lions.
Sisco scored three times to lead Esso to a 7-5 win over Westfort Power Centre in their opening game. Kyle DeGagne, Derek McLeod, Jordan Botsford, and Andrew Gerley also scored.
Sisco scored twice more, while Matthew Danielson and Gerley added singles, in their 4-0 win over the Neebing Blackhawks.
Esso wrapped up the round-robin with an 8-4 victory over the Current River Comets. Cody Dittaro led the way with four goals while DeGagne (two), Joe Yerxa, and McLeod rounded out the scoring.
< *c>Colonels
< *c>(PeeWee ‘A’)
After going 2-0-1 in the round-robin, the Colonels were ousted from further contention with a 9-6 playoff loss to Schreiber. Tim Green and Tanner Ward scored twice in a losing cause while Andrew Lundy and Brett Perrault also tallied.
Perrault paced the Colonels with two goals, while Steve Carlson, Ward, and David Pierce netted singles, in their opening 5-0 shutout over the Nipigon Elks Flyers.
The Colonels then tied the Northwood Knights 4-4 before edging the North End Flames 3-2. Scoring against the Knights were Carlson, Ward, Lucas Romaniuk, and Pierce while Pierce, Romaniuk, and Green tallied in versus the Flames.
< *c>Sunset Country Ford Mustangs
< *c>(Atom ‘AA’)
The Mustangs opened the tournament with a convincing 4-1 win over the South End Rangers but then lost their next three games to finish at 1-3.
Tyler Miller scored twice and added an assist against the Rangers while Josh Sigurdson had a goal and assist. Mitchell Green scored the other Mustang goal.
But goals were hard to come by the rest of the way as Sunset Country lost 3-1 to the Neebing Hawks, 5-1 to the Marathon Mercs, and 3-2 to the Norwest Stars.
Sigurdson, Brian White (two), and Miller were the goal scorers in the losses.
< *c>Gillons’
< *c>(Atom ‘A’)
Gillons finished pool play with a 2-2 record but failed to make the playoffs.
They opened with a 3-2 loss to the Current River Comets, then were blanked 5-0 by the West End Bruins. Chad Dustak and Danny Chapman scored in the first loss.
But the team rebounded with a 4-3 win over the Neebing Red Wings on goals by Andrew Easton, Rolland Roy, Chapman, and Garrick Bolzan, then closed out play with a 4-3 win over the Ignace Bulls.
Chapman, Taylor Jorgenson, Roy, and Jerome Tuesday all scored in that one.
< *c>Causeway Cougars
< *c>(Atom ‘A’)
Causeway finished out of the playoffs with a 1-3 mark, including an 8-3 loss to Westfort in their opening game. Tyler Harris scored twice (assisted by Brian Glavish both times) while Matt McLellan netted the other goal.
The Cougars then were blanked 4-0 by the VP Bearcats before rebounded with a 3-2 win over the Neebing Mighty Ducks. Harris (two) and McLellan were the snipers in that one.
They closed out the tournament with a 4-0 loss to the Red Rock Rangers.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
