Harvest Classic Hockey Tournament a huge success for NOTL Wolves

By any and all metrics, last weekend’s annual Harvest Classic Hockey Tournament hosted by the Niagara-on-the-Lake Wolves Minor Hockey Association was a huge success. 

Arenas packed with rep hockey players, their parents, grandparents and siblings? Check. 

A total of 36 teams in six divisions, including four teams from NOTL, descended upon both the Meridian Credit Union and Centennial Arenas Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with a 70 games on the schedule. 

Both lobbies were filled with players and supporters between games, and fans had to gingerly step around massive piles of equipment bags to make their way to observation spots at ice level. And, of course, pauses were necessary when passing young players practicing stickhandling moves before heading onto the ice.

As well, players and parents flocked toward the photo station, checking out action shots from games just completed. Raffle tickets were purchased by many, and the lineups at the concession stand were constant but at the same time fast-moving. 

A strong showing by the host club? Check. 

Under head coach Devon Neudorf, the U18 Wolves made a run at their age group’s championship at the tournament. Though Friday began with a 2-0 loss to New Hamburg, they bounced back to take an early lead against Lambeth later that same day and held them off for 5-4 victory. Their 6-1 win over Twin Centre Saturday afternoon put them in the semi-final against the Saugeen Shores Storm. 

The MCU arena was packed for that game, which saw end-to-end play to no avail for either team in the first period. Then, with 2:40 left to play in the second, Noah Whyte skated around the Storm net and was able to tuck the puck past the Storm’s goaltender to put the Wolves on the board. 

But just 24 seconds into the third period Saugeen Shores found a way to beat NOTL goalie Quintin Davis on a rebound to tie it up. 

Regulation ended in a 1-1 tie, and neither team scored in the subsequent five minute overtime. The game then went into a shootout to decide the victor. Dylan Price was up first for the Wolves and he quickly beat the Storm goaltender. Saugeen Shores missed their first two penalty shots, but tied it up on their third and final shot to force extra shots. Whyte and Logan Rossi were both stopped on their attempts,nd the Storm finally netted the winner on their fifth attempt. 

The Storm went on to win the tournament championship in that age group. 

The U13 and U15 teams both went 0-3 in pool play and finished last in their divisions. The U11 Wolves lost 3-0 to Lambeth and 9-2 to Mooretown Friday, but turned things around and dropped south Grenville 5-2 Saturday. That wasn’t enough, however, to move them into the semis. 

Evenly matched teams and close games? Check.

Though there were a few lopsided scores during pool play, it’s clear from the results of most of the 70 games that the 36 teams involved were seeded correctly. 

“There were five semi-finals that went to overtime,” says tournament convenor James Cadeau. “Four of those went to a shootout, too. Many games throughout the tournament ended in ties or were decided by one or two goals, too. The teams were very well-matched.” 

The only hitch with all of the overtime was an extended wait for the next games to take place. The semi-final between NOTL and Saugeen Shores, for example, was scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m. but was delayed by at least 90 minutes. 

Revenue earned for the host hockey association? Check.

Though treasurer Phil Leboudec was still working on the final count, he’s sure that this year’s tournament will be a money maker for the Wolves. 

“The barbecue did extremely well this year,” claims Leboudec, “and we were able to open the concession stand for the first time since COVID, and that complemented the barbecue nicely.”

Flynn says the Harvest Classic continues to grow in popularity. Registration filled up fast and the club ended up turning away an additional 20 teams. 

“We increased our registration fees a bit this year,” adds Leboudec, who also refereed a few games during the weekend, “and that should add a bit to our bottom line, too.” 

A team of volunteers working hard to make things go smoothly? Check, check and double check. 

This weekend marked Cadeau’s debut as tournament convenor for the Wolves, and by all accounts he did a bang-up job. 

For Cadeau, it was trial by fire, but club president Peter Flynn, vice president Joe Pagnotta, volunteer coordinator Carrie Plaskett, registrar Peggy Braun, public relations director Tana Fera-Vangent and equipment manager Glen Davis were close by for the bulk of the weekend to offer advice and assistance. 

“I think I was there for about 15 hours each day,” says Cadeau. “But I had to leave Saturday to coach my U18 house league team in Thorold. We won, by the way. Then I came right back here to the tournament.”

Cadeau, who with his wife Erinn Lockard runs Sweets and Swirls at the NOTL Community Centre and the arena concession stand, credits the phalanx of volunteers, including house league hockey players, parents and other board members, for the tournament running so smoothly. 

“A few things came up, and there was a learning curve for sure,” says Cadeau, “but everyone was there to help deal with any problems that arose. And the arena staff was great. We had a bit of an issue with the ice Sunday morning and they were right on it.”

Young volunteer scorekeepers were moving in and out of the office picking up and dropping off iPads, used to keep a live scoresheet during each game. The system allowed visitors to the Wolves’ website to see scores of games in progress and to view the results immediately following the final whistle. 

Barely fazed by any of the hitches encountered over the three days, the calm, even-keeled  Cadeau seems to be the right person for the job of tournament convenor.

“Overall it was a real positive experience, but I did take a whole page of notes,” he laughs. “Things that we can do to make it better. Like maybe adding five or ten minutes to each game to account for those overtimes, so we don’t end up behind schedule.”

And he’ll take those notes with him into board meetings as the hockey association gets closer to the March Break Classic, a tournament that draws 42 house league teams from across the province in different age groups. Registration for that tournament, by the way, is already full. 

Cadeau’s fellow board members are looking forward to working with him on that next big event.  

“It’s the first time that this group has managed this,” says Leboudec. “We did a lot of learning, and I think we did very well. It was a great team effort. We should have it all worked out for the next one.”