It bears reminding that a fourth place finish in a standard nine team OVA (Ontario Volleyball Association) tournament still means that you have placed in the top half of the field.

But for teams like the Northern Chill 17U Ice Box and countless others, the simple truth is that once you have battled your way through three consecutive matches to crack the final four, anything short of a medal is ultimately at least a little disappointing.

And battle the Ice Box did earlier this month in Whitby as the Sudbury squad went the distance in both of their morning pool games of the Provincial Cup – Championship B tournament.

The Chill boys went tooth and nail with both the Markham Revolution Supreme (27-25, 21-25, 15-12) and the Storm Bolts from Aurora (28-26, 18-25, 15-12), earning first place in Pool A. Quarter-finals went as expected as the northern crew swept past the Durham Attack Raiders, 25-22, 25-12.

That was, unfortunately, where their winning ways stopped as the Ottawa Fusion – Purple outlasted the Ice Box 17-25, 25-18, 15-10 and the Venom Hydra from Richmond Hill denied them bronze medals, defrosting the Chill 25-21, 25-17.

The 2025-2026 Northern Chill U17 Ice Box lineup embraces a lineup of Cameron Young, Duncan Mackinnon, Brett Rienguette, Mykael Gagné, Nick Mills, Clarke McNeil, Cédric Larouche, Danik Leblanc, Emilio Munoz Tarrega , Maksim Rybiak, head coach Mike Rybiak, assistant coaches Mike LeBlanc and Owen Foers and team manager Melanie LeBlanc.