20230303 BEARS WIN

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Orangeville grabs boys’ hockey title with single goal

ORANGEVILLE – A goal late in the first period gave the Orangeville Bears the District 4/10 high school boys’ hockey title, ending the improbable league playoff run by the Norwell Varsity Reds in the process.

That goal stood up as the only one of the match as the Bears edged the Varsity Reds 1-0 in the league’s championship game Thursday at the Tony Rose arena.

Jackson Shabot scored the only goal off a fantastic pass from Ethan Josephson. Grade 9 goalie Jacob Saldanha had the shutout and was the MVP for the Bears.

MVP for Norwell was goalie Etienne Glaude in the hard-fought game.

“We started off the year with three losses in our first four games, but the boys showed a lot of heart and were willing to show up to 7 a.m. practices and come together as a team,” Orangeville coach Justin Davis said. “Our kids have won 12 straight and find a way to win. It’s not the most talented team we’ve had but they show a lot of character.”

The league title was Orangeville’s seventh in 12 seasons.

After starting the season slowly, the Bears recorded nine consecutive wins to finish third in the standings at the completion of the regular season at 9-3-0-0. They were headed by the first-place Centre Wellington Falcons at 10-1-1-0 and second-place Ross Royals at 9-2-1-0. Those were the two teams the Varsity Reds, seventh in the eight-team league at 2-9-1-0, defeated in the playoffs.

Norwell outlasted Ross 7-5 in the quarter-finals and edged Centre Wellington 4-3 in overtime in the semifinals.

Both teams are to play in two-day CWOSSA tournaments scheduled for Monday and Tuesday.

Orangeville is to be in Pool A of the CWOSSA AAA tournament at the Centre Wellington Community Sportsplex in Fergus with Grand River Renegades of Kitchener and Owen Sound DSS Wolves. Pool B consists of Elmira Lancers, Monsignor Doyle Mustangs of Cambridge and Brantford CI Mustangs.

Monday, the Bears are to play Grand River at 8:30 a.m. and Owen Sound at 12 noon in preliminary-round play.

The semifinals are set for Tuesday morning with the final slated to go Tuesday at 2 p.m.

Norwell is to be in Division 2 of the CWOSSA A/AA tournament at the Delhi and Waterford arenas with Paris Panthers, John Diefenbaker Trojans of Hanover and St. David Celtics of Waterloo. Division 1 consists of Southwood Sabres of Cambridge, St. Mary’s Mustangs of Owen Sound, Guelph’s St. James Lions and Holy Trinity Titans of Simcoe.

Monday at Waterford arena, the Varsity Reds are to play Paris at 9 a.m. and St. David at 2 p.m.. They’re to finish preliminary-round play with a game against Diefenbaker Tuesday at 9:30 a.m.

Top two in each division advance to the semifinals set for Tuesday at 12 noon with the winners gaining berths in the 2:30 p.m. championship game Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. at Delhi arena.

 

  • Guelph Sports Journal