Main photo: The Northern Upfitters Bantam Rep Otters (back from left) Nick Sands, Rylan Holman, Charlie Keyes, Caleb Carr, Blake Punchard, Lucas Salmen, Aidan Macmillan, Jack MacInally; (middle row from left) trainer Derek Punchard, Braxton Bullen, Rhett MacFarlane, Hunter Crawford, Landen Cool, Kaidyn Crowder, Jesse Gardiner, trainer Shaun Vaillancourt, head coach Scott MacInally; (front from left) Nic Ehl, Damon Buttus, and Sam Thrale. Absent from photo: assistant coach Greg Macmillan (supplied)
The Northern Upfitters Bantam Rep Otters Hockey Team have been building a solid team since the beginning of their season, effort that paid off with a gold medal at a recent tournament.
The team’s regular season play, with nine wins, three losses and one tie, has them leading the MPS (Muskoka Parry Sound) standings.
Head coach Scott MacInally said that his team is a really good group of players comprised of a good combination of defense, forwards and goalies.
“The team has really bonded quite well together since they have all played with each other. This really helps the team dynamics when needing to work together. The team has worked hard on the systems we have put in place and it has showed in our league series results,” said MacInally.
The Bantam Otters have carried that success over to the tournaments they’ve played.
At their home tournament, Huntsville made it to the finals, narrowly missing first place with a 1-0 loss. At the Niagara-on-the-Lake Harvest Fall Classic, the Otters again made it all the way to the championship game where they lost to Listowel 3-0 and took second place.
In November, Huntsville participated in the Teeder Kennedy Classic tournament in Port Colborne Tournament and won it all to bring home the gold. In their final game, they beat the Stirling Blues 6-0.
The ultimate goal for the Northern Upfitters Bantam Rep Otters is to make it all the way to the OMHA Championships. They are focusing on finishing with top results in their league series and will then compete in the MPS Playdown Tournament to prepare for the OMHA Playdowns in the new year.
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Congratulations, Huntsville Otters Bantam Rep! You are a great team, keep up the good work!