Minor midget reps win gold at annual NobleKing tourney
Submitted by Gordon Schofield

The atom Knights were advancing against Innisfil in this preliminary match which they lost 3-1. But the home side recovered to collect the hardware at the end of the tournament.

The local NobleKing Minor Hockey Association held its annual Invitational NobleKing Challenge Cup Rep Tournament last weekend.

This is a highly regarded event, supported by teams from all over the province who compete in every division from novice to minor midget.

Tournament Director Jonathan Harris once again ensured that that every team enjoyed their participation and our hospitality throughout the weekend.

The NobleKing minor midget team was one of three local squads who were victorious. This team, under the guidance of Head Coach Matt Birks, finished the regular season with a 12-11-5 record for seventh place in the league. Thanks goes to Greg Maltby, one of two NKMHA coaches "at large," who filled in for Matt during the first two games of the tournament. Also thanks to trainer Cam Ross, for his team guidance this year and during the tournament. Also a recent welcome addition to the coaching staff, Andy Ostrowski, wrapped up his other weekend coaching duties in time to join the bench in the final game.

The minor midget Knights were in a tough battle in the semi finals against Kingston, but they prevailed and went on to celebrate at the end of the tournament.

In the tournament, these 15 year old Knights defeated West London 3-1, Cornwall - Seaway Valley 4-2 and the Hamilton - Rosedale Devils 2-0 in the round robin to finish first heading to the semi finals. The Knights then faced Kingston midday Sunday and won the game with literally one second remaining by a score of 3-2. Sunday night, the final was held between our Knights and Fergus (the defending OMHA minor midget BB champions) winners over TNT in the other semi final. The Knights defeated Fergus 4-2. Goalies Tristan Bronca and Mark Del Favero shared goaltending responsibilities.

The team is to be congratulated for their five-game undefeated tournament record. They amassed a record of 16 goals for and seven against. In the first match, goals were scored by Kyle McKay, Mark Mclean and Peter Zanchettin. Assists game from Zanchettin, Adam Gatto and Chris Edey. In the second outing, Knights goals came from McLean, Max Strohmeier, Edey and Eric Pia. Assist came from Shane Schofield, Mike Baccilieri, McKay, Mclean, Gatto and Edey. Goals in the third game came from Baccilieri and Zanchettin with assists from Mclean, James Elmhirst and Daniel Angeloni. Christopher Zuzek, who joined the team this year, had a solid performance throughout the tournament. The boys also had to cover for two missing members; Benny Zappia and Anthony Saraceni who has been on the injured list for two months.

The semi-final game saw Adam Gatto score two goals, including the last second winner with Baccilieri scoring the other. Assists came from Angeloni and Edey. The gold medal final game saw James Elmhirst score his first goal of the year to get things going with Zanchettin, Gatto and Donnelly adding the others. Assists came from Edey with a pair, McKay and Schofield. Del Favero was particularly strong in the early going to keep the Knights in it until they scored three goals within five minutes in the third period to put the game out of reach of their opponents. Congratulations to the team on winning the tournament again this year.

Association President Mike Bennett presented the championship trophy to the team along with individual trophies to each player.

OMHA playoffs are set to start and the Knights, finishing seventh in their division, have drawn Markham as their first opponents.