For the second straight year, the Sudbury region can lay claim to being home to a Silver Stick International U11 AA championship team.
Last year at this time, the Sudbury U11 "AA" Wolves recorded back to back 2-0 wins over the Lake County Vipers (Illinois) and the London Jr Knights on championship Sunday to take the crown.
This past Sunday, the Copper Cliff U11 "AA" Reds duplicated that feat and then some, registering six straight wins and only two by less than three goals on route to their Silver Stick pins.
The Reds wasted little time serving notice of their contender status in Sarnia, blanking the Toledo Cherokee 5-0 as Bo Michelutti paced the attack with a pair of goals, with Cruz McHugh, Nico Orazi-Dagostino and Malachi Dawson potting one each as Lincoln Levesque posted the shutout.
The second encounter on Friday proved to be a more challenging one as the U11 "AA" Reds edged the South Simcoe Storm 3-2 on goals from Easton Gray, Max Cecchetto and Malachi Dawson.
With that scare behind them, the Copper Cliff representatives were back rolling on all cylinders the next morning, taming the Vaughan Panthers 7-1 with Michelutti and Orazi-Dagostino both coming through with two goal efforts.
Solo tallies went the way of Cruz McHugh, Raleigh Hysen and Max Cecchetto in a game where the northern skaters broke a 2-1 game wide open, scoring five unanswered markers in the final period of play.
The locals who captured the Sudbury Regional title with a 2-1 triumph in an absolute dogfight with the Soo U11 "AA" Jr Greyhounds then closed out round robin play the same way they started, with a 5-0 victory, this time over the Littleton Hawks from Denver (Colorado).
Ames Desjardins drilled home his first two goals of the tournament while Malachi Dawson netted numbers three and four. Cruz McHugh capped things off offensively and goaltender Patrick Wing kept the slate clean between the pipes for Copper Cliff as the Reds prepared for playoff Sunday.
The U11 AA Reds may not have faced the likes of Alex Ovechkin in the semis - but they did have to find a way to eliminate the Capitals Hockey Academy from Maryland/Virginia in order to book their ticket to the finals.
In this case, the depth of their attack proved particularly helpful as Hudson Bernier and Nico Gianfrancesco lit the lamp in the middle stanza and Nico Orazi-Dagostino added an insurance marker midway through the third, the scoreboard reading 3-1 when all was said and done.
A rematch with Toledo proved far different than the first matchup as Copper Cliff clung to leads of 2-1 (end of 1st) and 3-2 (end of 2nd), eventually pulling away with a 7-4 win in a wild wide-open affair.
Bo Michelutti and Max Cecchetto both it paydirt twice each, with Olivia Otto, Ames Desjardins and Raleigh Hysen adding solo markers for the Reds.
The team will now set their sights on the NOHA Championship taking place in Timmins from March 20th to the 22nd. Rounding out the Copper Cliff U11 "AA" Reds roster are: Koen Geddes, Reed Paquette, Easton Saarinen and Easton Weiman.
The team staff includes head coach Peter Michelutti Jr, assistant coaches Matt Otto, Craig Maki and Dan Paquette, trainer Scott Wing, goalie coach Alex Levesque and team manager Meghan Otto.
