2020 Ontario Winter Game Semi Finalist
It has been ten years since a team from Sault Ste Marie represented the city and NOHA at the Ontario Winter Games. At that time, the ’97 AAA Jr Hounds went 0-3 at the Games. This year’s Peewee Major AAA Soo Jr Greyhounds, who are all born in 2007, were 1 of 8 teams competing for gold in Men’s Hockey at the Orillia 2020 Ontario Winter Games this past weekend. It was a great experience for these 12-year-old boys who stayed in athletes’ village, took part of the opening ceremonies, played against the best teams in the country and made memories of a lifetime.
For the coach of the Soo Jr Greyhounds, Chris Huckson, his only expectation for the weekend was for his team to play their game to the best of their ability and to never quit, no matter what happened. In the round-robin, the Jr Hounds would face the top teams from the OMHA, HEO, GTHL associations and would finish with a 2-1 record only losing to the Toronto Jr Canadians in the round-robin. That would be good enough to qualify them for the semi-finals and a birth into the medal rounds on Sunday. The Final 4 would be made up of the Toronto Marlboros (ranked first in Canada/Ontario), London Jr Knights (ranked second in Canada/Ontario), Toronto Jr Canadians (ranked 3 in Canada/Ontario) and the Soo Jr Greyhounds (ranked 64 Canada/42 Ontario).
The Jr Hounds would work hard against the London Jr Knights in the semi-finals on Saturday night, but would not be enough, putting them in the Bronze Medal game Sunday morning. The Jr Hounds did not stop competing for the entire tournament but would fall short again to the Toronto Marlboros, who took home the bronze medal. Being in the top four teams in this prestigious event was an accomplishment in itself. For the Peewee Major Soo Jr Greyhounds, it proved that heart and hard work means more than where you sit in the rankings especially when you are from the North.
The Peewee Major AAA Soo Jr Greyhounds will now build from this experience as they finish their playoff run where they are leading the Sudbury Jr Wolves 2-0 in the best of five series in the first round of the NOHLAAA playoffs. The winner of the NOHLAAA playoffs will also win the NOHA championship and a ticket to the OHF Championships in April. If the Jr Hounds win their playoffs, they will get a second chance to play the tops teams in Canada/Ontario again.
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