U18 Wolves turn focus to league title, OMHAs

His U18 Wolves rep team may have returned to Niagara-on-the-Lake from last weekend’s International Silver Stick Tournament in Forest, Ontario without any new medals or a banner to hang in their home arena, but head coach Devon Neudorf knows they brought home something just as important. 

“It was a great weekend overall,” Neudorf said Monday. “Ultimately, it provided us with more confidence and understanding, and reinforced the fact that we are one of the best teams in the province. We can compete with any team that we meet on the ice. That’s a great thing heading into the playoffs and hopefully the OMHAs (Ontario Minor Hockey Association Championships) in April.”

The Wolves qualified for last weekend’s tournament by winning the Bob Merkley Memorial Regional Silver Stick Tournament in Midland back in November, emerging from that weekend undefeated. 

They followed that this weekend by going 3-and-1 in pool play, finishing second in the U18B division out of six teams, and taking the Metcalf Castor River Canucks to triple overtime in the semi-final before losing that game 3-2. The Canucks went on to lose the championship game to the host Lambton Shores Predators 3-0.

The Wolves opened the tournament with a 5-4 come-from-behind victory over the Petrolia Oilers Friday morning.

“Petrolia was ranked the number one team in the province,” Neudorf said. “We were down 3-2 after two periods. At intermission we told the guys to dig deep the last 15 minutes. Petrolia scored again a minute into the third, which was deflating. But we came back with three unanswered goals to win it.”

Andrew Bain notched the winning goal for the Wolves in the final minute of the game. It was Bain’s first goal and his first game in three months for NOTL, after nursing a broken collarbone during that time. Bain ended up scoring three goals over the weekend, tying with a couple of players from other teams for the most goals in the tournament. 

The Wolves were back on the ice Friday evening for the tournament’s feature game against the host team, with the local Legion Pipe Band bringing all the players into the Shores Recreation Centre Arena and NOTL captain Marco Gruosso taking the ceremonial opening faceoff. 

“We came out a little flat in that game,” said Neudorf of the Wolves’ 6-2 loss. “We weren’t quite as disciplined as far as our forecheck and taking the stick defensively. Ultimately, we didn’t quite have it.”

After the disappointing loss, Neudorf reminded his team why they were at the tournament, and to keep their minds on the next day’s games. 

The talk worked, as the Wolves blanked the Canucks 1-0 Saturday morning, then dominated the Mooretown Flags 6-0 later that afternoon. NOTL goalies Quinten Davis and Braden Sawyer each picked up shutouts in the wins. 

“Calo Zambito scored on a shot from the point in the 1-0 win,” Neudorf explained. “And in the game against Mooretown, the boys came out right from the puck drop ready to play. Dylan Price and Lucas Roberts Ramos both got shorthanded goals on the same penalty kill in the third period, too. It was a big win for us heading into Sunday.”

Though the Wolves, Predators and Canucks all had 3-and-1 records after the preliminary round, the Predators received a bye into the final game based on head-to-head scoring by period. 

“If we had picked up one more point against Lambton Shores in the third period we would have had the bye to the final,” Neudorf lamented. Instead, the Wolves were to have a rematch against Metcalf Castor River. 

“We decided to start Quinten in net because he got the shutout against them Saturday morning,” Neudorf explained. “He played well Sunday, too. We had two power play goals, from Logan Rossi and Ed Friesen, and we never had a lead in the game. We came back from 1-0 and 2-0 to tie it up both times.”

Regulation time ended in a 2-2 tie. Overtime was a back-and-forth battle, with the referees going light on their whistles through all three extra frames. The Wolves hit the post three times and the crossbar once, but with 34 seconds remaining in the third overtime period the Canucks were able to push a rebound over the goal line to escape with the 3-2 win.

“It was heartbreaking, and devastating,” Neudorf said. “But we didn’t give up a powerplay goal through all five games. The boys played with discipline, they really were able dig deep throughout the weekend. As we move toward the OMHAs, we can remind them how it felt to lose such a meaningful game in such a heartbreaking fashion.”

The team was back on the ice Monday night to begin the push to the provincials, beating Thorold 3-0. NOTL is currently in first place in the Niagara District League with a record of 13-3-3, three points up on the Port Colborne Sailors.

The league playoffs will start in early February, while the OMHAs are scheduled for April 5 through 7 in Kingston, Ontario. 

“That’s our focus now,” Neudorf insisted. “The boys know what they have to do. In the playoffs, every game matters, every shift matters. You just have to do those extra little things. When you think you can’t get a stick on something, you just do what you have to do to make it happen. It’s about bringing that extra five or ten percent effort every time you step onto the ice.”