It was quite the weekend in Leamington. The Sun County Panthers did a fantastic job hosting the U16 Alliance Showcase this year after a two year stint by the Sarnia Jr. Sting hosting. There were some great games and it was good to see everyone get into the action after what I felt was a bit of a slow start to the season.
The other good thing about the Showcase this season was that it was a week earlier than in the past. This is helpful for those teams who attend the Whitby Silver Stick as it creates a one week break rather than going two weekends in a row with a full schedule.
In terms of the games itself, I felt like it was a great weekend of pretty even hockey. There weren’t a lot of blowouts and lots of close games. Some teams showed up real well while others had disappointing results. There were also some players who definitely put their names on the map with some great performances.
Let’s go through each team and their weekend along with some of the players who shined bright for them.
Brantford 99ers – It was a real tough weekend for the 99ers as they went winless in their four games and only managed to score twice in the process. Lots of credit needs to go out to both Adam Bednarz and Grady McCall as they faced a lot of rubber and weathered the storm on multiple occasions.
Cambridge Hawks – The Hawks were probably hopeful for a better outcome winning just one out of their four games. They played tough and physical for all four games. I thought Jackson Taraborrelli was strong in goal for his games while Matthew Miller put up a boat load of points. Miller also showed that despite his smaller stature, he will mix it up with some of the bigger guys opposing him.
Chatham-Kent Cyclones – Finished off the weekend with a very impressive 5-2 win over the London Jr. Knights. Still without Parker Graham, Cyclones are starting to find themselves offensively with both Chase Pettipiece and Julien Davis leading the way up front. I also thought that Nash Jacobs had a very strong showing throughout the weekend.
Elgin-Middlesex Canucks – Rebounded well after suffering their first league loss of the season to Waterloo on Day Two. The usual suspects were all over the place offensively especially Jacob Vandeven and Cole Edmundson. The big question will be in regards to top prospect Parker Vaughan. Vaughan left their win on Sunday against Cambridge after taking a big hit and did not return. Hopefully it is just a minor setback and he will be returning to the lineup in short order.
Huron-Perth Lakers - Interesting weekend for the Lakers. Showed real well against the London Jr. Knights but then struggled to manage points in any of their other games. One positive to take from the weekend is that it looks like Quinn Kipfer is starting to heat up, which would be huge for the team. Kingston Powell and Colton Radford also started to chip in offensively throughout the weekend.
Kitchener Jr. Rangers – Maybe the biggest surprise of the weekend was how well Kitchener showed. The Jr. Rangers went 2-1-1 with their lone loss being to London in a game where they lead 3-1 heading into the 3rd period. Their top line of Kasra Fathi, Jethro Gaudun-Jones and Kayden Oliver showed very well while Julian Hall seemed to be automatic on the man advantage. Let’s see if Kitchener can build on this success moving forward.
London Jr. Knights – With a 2-2 record, probably not the weekend London was looking to have. The Jr. Knights were just unable to get that timely goal when they needed it. One thing London should be happy about is that both Daniel Casey and Raiden Doxtator were able to bury some goals this weekend and could be a sign of a resurgence from those two. I’d say Ethan Dean and Blake Builder were probably the most consistent players for the team this past weekend.
Sarnia Jr. Sting – My first experience watching this Jr. Sting team and the one thing I have to say is that they play a very heavy game and make it increasingly difficult to go against them as the game wears on. Brody Najim was arguably the star of the weekend, especially with his big Friday performance against Waterloo. Brady Colameco was also steady in goal for the Jr. Sting and really only floundered when Sarnia got into penalty trouble, especially against Kitchener on Sunday. One more note should be on John McLaughlin, the lone 2009 born player in the loop this season. He did not look out of place whatsoever and will be a key piece for the Jr. Sting moving forward.
Sun County Panthers – I thought the host Panthers played really well this weekend. Got involved in some physical contests but were a floater against Kitchener away from an undefeated weekend. Really impressed by the defensive play from Gavin Gaudet all weekend. Just seemed so confident in his own end and very calm under pressure. Also, don’t look now, but Eddie Hickson is back near the top of the scoring charts in the loop.
Waterloo Wolves – Wolves went just 1-3 on the weekend but the one win was a big one against EMC. The Wolves were unable to get an consistent production out of their forward group. One thing to say about this team is about goaltender Connor Harmon. I think you could make the argument, despite the results, that he may be the best goalie in the Alliance at this time.
Windsor Jr. Spitfires – My favourite team to watch throughout the weekend. The speed and skill that they have up and down the lineup is really something to be seen. A 3-1 weekend should be deemed a success and I think they are one of the best teams in the loop. Nicolas Rosati is a buzzsaw while on the ice and Santiago Jimenes quietly had himself a weekend, with seven goals and nine points over the weekend.
With the showcase now behind us, we look forward to some of the upcoming action. As I said earlier, the Whitby Silver Stick is next weekend in what is arguably the biggest U16 tournament of the year. Four Alliance teams will take part in that tournament. The Waterloo Gold Puck is also upcoming in a few weeks and then the Marlies Holiday Classic right before the end of the year. In addition to tournaments, the regular season will start to ramp up soon with just over two months to go before playdowns begin.
Exciting times in the league and lots of hockey to be played. It truly could be one of those toss up type of years when everything is settled.