No sports team is ever thrilled at being eliminated in semi-final action - but the Sudbury U9 Rockhounds were certainly far more satisfied than most with their recent performance at the 2025 Ontario Lacrosse Championships in Whitby.
The GSLA (Greater Sudbury Lacrosse Association) reps had not hit the win column very often at all in tournament play this year but managed to do so when it mattered the most, posting a 3-0-0 record in pool play at provincials.
In quarter-final action, Grayson Antonio netted the game-winning goal in overtime, short-handed, no less, lifting Sudbury past the Kitchener Kodiaks 5-4. The goal completed the hat trick for Antonio, with Troy Michelutti accounting for the remaining two tallies.
Their tank pretty much emptied, the Rockhounds were finally eliminated in the final four as the gold medal winning Kawartha Lakes Fury outlasted the northern entry 7-4.
"For a bunch of seven and eight year olds, the resiliency they showed not only throughout the weekend but also throughout the season was special," noted Sudbury head coach Thomas Kingston.
"Even as the weekend started, the message was that we could not have been more proud, just based on where they got to as a team."
Returning talent for this group were part of a Rockhounds team that competed in Division "F", one year ago, making a leap up the rankings of 32 slots to earn their spot in Division "D" this summer.
And where most if not all of their opponents compete in league play regularly, supplementing that with tournaments and arriving at the OLA playdowns with 40 or more games under their belts, the Sudbury squad had actually faced off in a grand total of 12 games, all year.
"We focused a lot on competing at practices and not taking drills off, not taking shifts off," said Kingston. "They were probably battle tested a little bit more in practice, simply because we didn't have a choice."
"We had to get the competitive juices flowing."
Good thing too because right out of the gate, the Rockhounds were forced to rally, fighting back from a 3-2 second period deficit to slip past the Clarington Gaels 5-4 as Troy Michelutti rifled home the hat trick, joined on the scoresheet by Grayson Antonio and Jack Eamer.
The Sudbury side continued to win the close ones, improving to 2-0-0 with a 6-4 triumph over the Oakville Hawks as five different players found the back of the net for the Hounds.
Troy Michelutti (2), Grayson Antonio, Jack Eamer, Troy Sakellaris and Jack Gainer all hit the mark in a winning cause.
The team wrapped up pool play with another 6-4 victory, this time over the Cambridge Highlanders as Troy Michelutti (3), Grayson Antonio (2) and Troy Sakellaris handled the offense.
An oustanding performance in net from Sudbury goaltender Colby Kingston kept things close until midway through period three of the semi-final affair as Sudbury fell just short, despite markers from Jack Gainer (2), Troy Michelutti and Dean Gunner Jackson.
Rounding out the 2025 U9 Rockhounds roster were Avery Meade, Colton Williams, Halden Leclair, Henri Bernier, Hunter Risk-Gillard, Logan Hudson, Marvel Peltier, Nolan Rancourt and Owen Wilson.
