Two Niagara-on-the-Lake rep hockey teams finished near the top of their divisions in the annual Harvest Classic tournament in Virgil last weekend.
The U13 rep Wolves went undefeated during round-robin play and made it all the way to the final, where they lost to a powerful team from Ottawa.
And the U15 Wolves had two wins and a loss in the preliminary round but made it through to the semifinals, also against a squad from Ottawa.
They lost the semi 1-0 on a late third-period goal.
Two other local teams competed in the tourney, hosted by the NOTL Hockey Association, but the U11 and U18 Wolves faced some stiff competition and didn’t advance to the playoff rounds.
U13 head coach Gary Friesen praised his team’s effort.
“Our team did a great job this weekend,” he told The Lake Report.
“I’m incredibly proud of how we came together — playing a complete, team-first game from start to finish. It was a fun weekend of hockey and community.”
The U13s opened the tournament Friday with a strong 6-1 win over Thorold, Friesen noted.
Goalie Declan MacNeil was solid between the pipes, while Jack Friesen, Ike Good and Kosta Condos each chipped in with two points to lead the offence.
On Saturday in a 3-1 win versus West Lorne, Nathan Reid, Brendan Palka and Easton Wilkinson led the way offensively, with William Ecker playing well in net.
They pulled off a 2-1 victory over Ayr in a tight contest, thanks to Good’s game-winning goal with just 1:30 left on the clock.
That led to Sunday’s 3-2 semifinal win over Almaguin. Jack Friesen led the offence with three assists and Campbell Whyte was the hero, burying the game-winner with 1:03 remaining.
In the U13 final, against Ottawa, also undefeated to that point, the Wolves fell 4-0. Good was the team’s tournament MVP while teammates Condos and Friesen also contributed strong offensive performances.
Coach Rich Andres said his U15 Wolves are a young team that hasn’t played together in past years.
But, “the boys have done a great job of learning and coming together as a team early in the season,” he told The Lake Report.
Their first game was a hard-fought 2-1 win over Eganville thanks to goals by Cian Doyle and Jake VanSpronsen.
The U15s followed that with a 3-1 victory over South Kent, with goals by Logan Stewart, Doyle and VanSpronsen.
They lost their final round-robin game 2-1 to the Midwest 49ers, from the Walkerton area. Dean Olsen had NOTL’s lone goal.
In the semifinal on Sunday afternoon, Ottawa, the eventual champion, skated to a 1-0 win thanks to a goal scored with under six minutes to play in the third.
Andres said goaltender Tomas Nolan was the team’s tournament MVP.
“He played outstanding in every game, kept us in games even when we were outshot.”
“The coaches are very proud of the boys. They battled in every game, worked hard and left everything on the ice,” Andres said.
