Talent and Tourism in Tournament Tilts
2010-02-04
by Randy Pascal
Weekly Column now appears in Northern Life, every Thursday
Sure, most everyone involved with local sports is aware of the larger tournaments that come to town and the economic spinoff they create. Events like
the Big Nickel Hockey Tournament and the Panhellenic Soccer Tournament regularly draw hundreds of visitors from out of town to the area.
But the fact is that on almost every single weekend of the year, there is at least one or two slightly smaller scale athletic competitions being staged
in Greater Sudbury, exposing all that Northern Ontario has to offer to a boatload of people who might not otherwise enjoy that experience.
Case in point recently as both the Nickel Classic Volleyball and Valley East Hockey Tournaments ramped up play at venues throughout the
region, with a total of 106 teams taking part between the two events.
Hockey finals on Sunday at Centennial and Capreol Arenas featured a bit of everything, although that could also be said of the Minor Bantam championship
encounter, all on its own.
The Sudbury Auto Depot Bulldogs and Nickel City Peewee “AAA” Sons went to overtime tied at two and while the extra sessions were scheduled
to showcase a sequence of 4 on 4, 3 on 3 and 2 on 2 hockey, seldom were the teams at even strength.
A flurry of penalties made things more than a little interesting for the many fans on hand, with a penalty shot awarded to the Sons Brandon
Dumouchel, just for good measure. Thankfully for the Bulldogs, goaltender Patrick Fontaine comes up with the big save, and minutes later it’s
Cameron Etherington ending the drama with a nifty deke in tight.
In Midget play, the Gold Medal game between the Sudbury Rhythm & Cues Sharks and Valley East Rebels marked the third time in the past two
weeks that the teams have gone toe to toe. Ironically, the teams split the two games leading up to the tournament, with each squad posting an impressive
victory.
Bragging rights in round three go to the hometown Rebels, who spot the Sharks a 1-0 first period lead before reeling off six unanswered goals.
Mathieu Renaud paced the attack with a pair, with Benoit Roy, Tyler Sullivan, Bruno Paquette and Kyle Theriault adding singles, all
after Devon Hince opened the scoring for the SMHA reps.
Sudbury Wolves “AAA” Minor Bantams jumped out to a 3-0 lead and never looked back, downing the Valley East Rebels (Major
Bantams) 4-1 in the final. and call-up Joey Lemay hit the mark for coach Grant Cooper and
company, with Brett MacKinnon answering in a losing cause.
The Temiskaming Shores Minor Hockey Association continues to produce some very talented young hockey players as the Wilson Major Atoms
thumped the Copper Cliff Redmen 6-1, taking the divisional banner north.
Jordan Legros scored a pair of goals for the Puckhounds, with Robbie Popkie, Calvin Chartrand, Spence Dupuis and Cayse Ton also
finding their way on to the scoresheet. Gregory Trudeau-Paquet countered with the only goal for the Redmen.
Another Nickel District rivalry showcased in the Minor Atom final as the Sudbury Bulldogs receive one goal apiece from Mathieu Dokis-Dupuis, Brett
Jacklin and Mathieur Gareau in posting a 3-0 whitewash of the host Valley East Rebels.
Finally, the youngest of the age groupings kicked things off bright and early on Sunday as Valley East stopped Temiskaming Shores 3-1 in the Novice
title game. Patrick Gagnon, Bryce Brunet and Joshua Menard tallied for the Rebels, while Hunter Foreshew broke the shutout bid for the
visitors.
On the courts of Sudbury, seven different school gymnasiums were in full use as a total of 64 junior and senior girls volleyball teams from across the
province gathered for the Nickel Classic.
The event, which included a nice contingent of local entries, also drew teams from Georgetown, Barrie, Timmins, Kapuskasing, Sault Ste Marie and North
Bay. Speaking of the Gateway City, the powerhouse that is the Widdifield Wildcats just keep rolling along, with the senior team a clear cut OFSAA
contender.
Sparked by the play of heavily-recruited middle Tessa Alyman, the Cats cruised to gold in the championship final, taking down Bradford 25-18,
25-11 to cap off a run that would see Widdifield not drop a single set along the way.
As for the local schools, both the Lockerby Vikings and Lasalle Lancers were eliminated in semi-final play, with the Vikes pushing
Bradford to a third set before falling by the wayside.
The teams are among a pack of potential challengers to the SDSSA banner this year, with Marymount and College Notre-Dame also likely to make some noise,
while Lo-Ellen continues to show signs of improvement.
It’s a Small World after all – In following very closely the exploits of the Kendra Lilly rink at the Canadian Junior Curling
Championships in Sorel (P.Q.) a couple of weeks back, my attention was captured by the presence of Michelle McQuaid, representing Prince Edward
Island.
Sure enough, local sports fans might well remember older brother Adam McQuaid, who toiled on the blueline of the Sudbury Wolves for four
years and now finds himself suiting up with the Boston Bruins.
Meanwhile, younger sister took in a little taste of the Northern Ontario hospitality while competing in Quebec. “During our time at Nationals, we had
the opportunity to meet the girls from Sudbury representing Northern Ontario, and became friends”, noted Michelle McQuaid in a recent email. “It was great
to see them do so well, as we were supporting cheering for them.”
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