Main Photo: The Aquadome Novice Rep Otters at the Duke Knox Rep Home Tournament (front row from left) Fletcher Elliott (Goalie), Dylan Bennett, Braeden Higgs, Carson Frasier (Captain), Braeden Woollings (Goalie), Avery Shirtliff; (middle row from left) Carter Quinlan, Taylor Carnduff, Quinten Cool, Logan Sheppard, Chayse Woods, Ewan Russell, Weston Earl, Sterling Boothby, Warren Neal; (back row from left) Coach Jason Bennett, Trainer Ryan Woollings, Coach Craig Frasier, Head Coach Jon Quinlan, Coach Jeff Higgs and Team Manager Tanya Neal.
The Aquadome Novice Rep Otters excelled in the 2017-18 season and were the last Huntsville team standing in the playdowns.
In the preliminaries, Huntsville, the South Muskoka Bears and the Parry Sound Shamrocks vied for spots in the next round. It would be the Otters and the Shamrocks, after each won once against the other and beat the Bears twice, who would advance to meet up again in the quarter finals.
In game one against the Shamrocks on February 10, the Otters took the win 6-0 on their home turf. Fueled by that early success, they brought everything to the ice for their next two games, winning 4-3 on February 11 and 4-1 on February 23 to sweep the series and move on to the semi-finals.
There the Otters faced tough opponents in the Collingwood Blackhawks, who also had great success in their quarter finals where they shut out the Elmvale Coyotes.
The Novice Rep Otters played their hardest in their first game against the Blackhawks on March 2 but lost 2-4. The next day the Otters travelled to Baysville to play game two but again fell to Collingwood in a 1-5 loss.
After a week of rest, the Otters got their spirit back to take on the Blackhawks in Collingwood on Friday, March 9 for game three. The team started off strong, keeping the score at 0-0 during the first and half way into the second period. But the Otters could not hold off the Blackhawks as the team grew tired and lost their momentum, allowing Collingwood to take the series.
Even though they did not advance, the Otters were grateful for the support from their fans—family, Otters players, Huntsville Minor Hockey Association staff and friends—as they came to cheer them on during their two home games.
Once the team sat down and reflected on their season, the boys realized how far they made it and how well they represented their hometown.
The Aquadome Novice Rep Otters are not done yet. They will continue with their practices this week as they prepare for annual Knights of Columbus Tournament this weekend in Huntsville. Come out and cheer on your Novice and Atom Otters.
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