Huntsville’s Junior C Otters hosted the annual Garth Thomas Cup men’s hockey tournament, last weekend, a fundraiser that helps the team keep hockey fees for the players to just the league fees.
Garth Thomas was a well-known local sports broadcaster and editor, avid volunteer and community supporter. He died in 2012 and was previously inducted into the Huntsville Sports Hall of Fame as a builder. It is considered an honour to win the Garth Thomas Cup.
It was another successful year for the tournament. Otters president Monty Clouthier said, “The support shown by our local hockey community for our team helps us know that Junior C Hockey will thrive in the future. We have a lot of ex-players and coaches that participate every year to help our team for the future.”
There were 12 teams competing this year from Huntsville, Haliburton and Ottawa. The eight teams in the 18+ division were split into two groups, the Blair McCann group—Muskoka Crane Jr, Bruisers, Alcohawks, and West Carlton Warriors—and the Otter group—Goodtimers Jr, Muskoka Rental, Boilers, and Dorset Ducks. There were also four teams in the Huskies 35+ division: Shirtliff, Muskoka Crane Sr, The Pub and Goodtimers Sr.
The tournament began with a moment of silence in honour of the Humboldt Broncos, the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League whose team bus was involved in a horrific accident that left 15 dead and 14 injured.
Players observed a moment of silence for the Humboldt Broncos at the start of the tournament
It was a full weekend of games with all of the teams playing competitively and showing their love for the sport.
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- Goodtimers Sr (in black) vs Shirtliff
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- Muskoka Crane Sr (in orange) vs The Pub
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- Muskoka Crane Jr (in orange) vs Alcohawks
Otters players took to the ice for Muskoka Crane Jr (from second left) Nathan Delarosbil, Tyler Roffe-Gervais, Cody Jones and Bo Peltier
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- Boilers (in orange) vs Goodtimers Jr
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- Bruisers (in white) vs West Carleton Warriors
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- Muskoka Rent-all (in green) vs Dorset Ducks
The first 18+ semi-final game pitted first-place team in the Blair McCann group against Otter group’s second place team, Dorset Ducks. The Ducks took the lead to win 5-2.
18+ semi-final between Muskoka Crane Jr (in orange) and the Dorset Ducks
The other 18+ semi-final had first-place Otter team, Boilers, meet the second-place Blair McCann team, Alcohawks. This was a very close game, with the teams matching each other goal-for-goal but in the end the Boilers pulled ahead for a 3-2 win.
18 + semi-final between the Boilers (in orange) and the Alcohawks
The 18+ finals brought the Dorset Ducks and the Boilers together to fight for top spot. The game was close, with the teams tied 2-2 at the buzzer. By the end of a five-minute sudden-death overtime, neither team had scored and the game moved into a best-of-three shoot out. The Boilers got one goal past the Ducks to take the 18+ cup.
The 18+ final pitted the Boilers (in orange) against the Dorset Ducks
The Boilers are the Garth Thomas Cup 18+ champs!
The Huskies 35+ division final matched Muskoka Crane Sr against The Pub. Both teams wanted to take the win with the action moving from end to end, but Muskoka Crane Sr bested their opponents to put three goals past the netminder and a fourth in an empty net to win 4-1.
The 35+ final matched Muskoka Crane Sr (in orange) against The Pub
The Pub are the 2018 Garth Thomas Cup 35+ champs!
Overall, there was great fun to be had, and what better place to gather and catch up with your friends than on the ice.
The Junior C Otter executives thank everyone who volunteered and played in the tournament. They were overwhelmed by the support for the community team.
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