Huntsville Minor Hockey season is in full swing with multiple wins over past two weekends

Local minor hockey teams saw two action-packed weekends.

The Canada Summit Center was the place to be November 11-12 if you wanted to watch some intense hockey

The Huntsville Fowler Atom Rep Otters hosted their home tournament in the Jack Bionda arena. Their home-opener was against the Glanbrook Rangers. The Otters were a little slow out of the gate with a loss of 4-1, but on Saturday the team quickly got their groove back with a 2-2 tie against Sturgeon Lake. By the afternoon, the team worked hard to rise together and won against the undefeated Tilsonburg Tornados. Great determination, Otters! Team manager Julie Williams said, “Unfortunately, the Otters did not move on but learned that they have the ability to be a great team.”

TEAM ROSTER: Head Coach AJ Johnson, Assistant coaches Brian Keyes and Adam Crawford, Trainer Rob Ehl, Manager Julie Williams, #1 Nicholas Ehl, #3 Jaxon Crowder, #7 Owen Decaro (missing from photo), #8 Eric Adams, #9 Gavin Williams, #10 Ethan Caracciolo, #11 Charlie Keyes, #12 Keegan Shirtliff, #13 Reed Summers Arndt, #14 Walker Crawford, #15 Hunter Crawford, #16 Toby Johnson, #17 Peter Perentesis, #18 Tyson Buttus, #19 Damon Buttus, #20 Jack Wilson.

Fowler Atom Rep Otters (Photo: Heather Douglas)

On Friday, November 11, the Armstrong Dodge Midget AE Otters faced off against the Almaguin Devils. Otters goalie, #20 Josh Lawson, moved fiercely within his crease to keep the Devils’ goals out of net.

Penalties acquired by the Almaguin Devils allowed the Huntsville Otters to use the power plays to their advantage to score on net. The penalties continued for the Almaguin Devils and the Otters as the game became more physical, becoming unsportsmanlike in the third period with the score tied 1-1. Timeouts were called in the last minute of play by both the Devils and the Otters coaches. Goalies were pulled but at the end resulted in a 1-2 loss for the Otters. Coaches encouraged the boys to rest up for their next game on Saturday.

On Saturday, the Armstrong Dodge Midget AE Otters faced the Penetang AE Flames, one of their opponents in the upcoming Silver Stick tournament on November 25-27. Two of the Otters players, #6 Braydon Morgan and #14 Logan Voyer, were out with injuries and #13 Tyler Pierce was called up as a forward to support the Otters team for the weekend. Goalie Camden Conner #1 made immaculate saves as the defence kept the puck out of their end for most of the game. Otter goals were scored by #11 Denver Parliament, #7 Chris Locke and #13 Tyler Pierce for a 3-0 win against the Flames.

There was no rest for the Armstrong Dodge Midget AE Otters as they traveled to Port Carling on Sunday to play against the Muskoka Rock. The boys seemed to be slower in the first period, as this was their third game straight, but once the Muskoka Rock scored a goal in the first period and then another in the beginning of the second period, the Otters were not holding back. They began to skate harder, making excellent passes from center to forward and back again. Defenceman #16 Kieryn Morrison knew he had a shot and took it from center line to score a great shot! Within seconds of that goal, the Otters kept the puck in the Rocks end to score again, with #13 Tyler Pierce tying the game 2-2. It was back and forth in the third with a penalty and then a goal for the Rock and then the same for the Otters leaving the night with an overall tie game 3-3.

Saturday, November 12 was a busy place at the Don Lough arena, as fans stayed to cheer on the Otters MBRP Major Midget team, who played against the Stayner Cyclones. Team captain #17 Quinn Thompson led the boys out on to the ice pumped up and ready for the game. Goalie #1 Scott Perry was on his game, making incredible saves in his crease. The first period consisted of three penalties for the Cyclones, letting the Otters use the power play to score a goal within the first four minutes by #14 Cole Earl and a second scored by #11 Cody Parent bringing the score 2-0 for the Otters at the end of the first.

The Cyclones pressed hard trying to score in the beginning of the second. The game started to become more aggressive as players were getting scrappy in front of the nets. These actions found both team’s players filling up the penalty box for unsportsmanlike conduct. With 34 seconds left in the second period, #17 Quinn Thompson stopped at the center line to receive a pass, took a slap shot and scored with a top shelf bringing the score to 3-0 at the end of second.

As the third period arose, the Cyclones were able get a breakaway from the Otters and used an open shot on net to score two minutes in. The game got cleaner and the players were skating fast end to end. The Cyclones managed to deke around the Otters defense and scored another goal half-way through the third, closing the gap to 3-2. The Otters fought back with a quick goal made by #14 Cole Earl to increase their lead 4-2. As the Cyclones were not beating the clock, with less than three minutes left, once again, the game became physical with fights in front and behind the nets, incurring three more penalties for the Otters and two more for the Cyclones. With only three players on, the Cyclones managed to add one more goal to the scoreboard before the buzzer. End result was 4-3 for a win for the MBRP Midget team. It was a close one Otters!

More action November 20-21

Armstrong Dodge Midget AE Otters goalie Camden Connor had a shut-out game (Photo Kim Small)

With hockey season at full force, the Otters had another weekend to win big! The Fowler Atom Rep team played an away game against the Highland Storm on Saturday November 20 with a tie 5-5 but then brought home the win in the Jack Bionda arena on Sunday against the Parry Sound Shamrocks 5-4.

The Armstrong Dodge Midget AE also traveled to North Bay on Saturday to play against the West Ferris Trappers to play a “heart stopping game,” said Kim Small, and came away with a clean sweep of 5-0 and no penalties. Great shut out game for goalie #1 Camden Conner!

The Midget AE team then traveled south to Penetang for a late evening game. It was another fast-paced game with #19 Colin Jones scoring a ‘hat trick’ adding three goals for the team to a winning score of 7-2.

Finally, to end the hockey weekend recap, the MBRP Major Midgets “claimed their second tournament championship of the season,” said manager Marta Long. The boys were competing in the Tim Greavette Major Midget Tournament in South Muskoka. The opener saw The Otters against Innisfil which resulted in a win 4-1. Game two for the Otters was close when paired with Ingersoll Express who seemed to be an even-matched opponent until four players from each team were ejected. As Marta Long described, “this gave the Otters the momentum to surge ahead with a 9-3 blowout win.” Saturday consisted of two more wins against Caledonia 1-0 and then St. George 2-0. These four round-robin wins guaranteed the Otters a berth the Sunday afternoon finals against long-time rivals, the South Muskoka Bears. The two Muskoka teams met head to head, goal for goal to tie it up in the beginning of the second period but then managed to push farther and score the winning goal 3-2 to rise to the top as champs once again! The five MVPs for the weekend games were Tyler Miller, Wyatt Boothby, Scott Perry, Chris Aben, and Adam Long. Stupendous effort Otters on another championship!

MBRP Major Midget Otters (back from left) Coaches Shaun Vaillancourt and Steve Lavigne, Adam Long, Jacob Schnurr, Blake Schmitz, Quinn Thompson, Ethan Murdy, Garrett Ralph, Nick Lavigne, Kyler Campbell and Dan Barnett; (middle row from left) Chris Aben, Conner White, Dylan Welsh, Cole Earl, Cody Parent, Braiden Jones; (front from left) goalies Tyler Miller and Scott Perry. Missing: Wyatt Boothby. (Photo: Marta Long)

About Cheyenne Wood

I am a kind-hearted, hard-working teacher, mother and a wife. I love to learn and consider myself a life-long learner. I enjoy being a coach, a tutor, and a supporter in my community. My passion is photography. Capturing the greatest moment, greatest shot is thrilling to me and brings me joy!

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