LITTLE CURRENT—The Manitoulin Panthers played host to the U15B Northern Ontario Hockey Association (NOHA) Tournament of Champions March 22-24 at the NEMI Rec Centre and won the coveted trophy on home ice.
An incredible opening ceremony began with a memorable drumming performance by Sunset Sagutch that gave the entire arena goosebumps. A land acknowledgment was read by Delilah Bourcier followed by a beautiful rendition of O Canada sung by Makenzie Cortes and a ceremonial puck drop by Mayor Al MacNevin. MPP Michael Mantha then took to the ice with the help of all five participating teams and encouraged all of the fans in the stands to rally behind Elliot Lake and encourage everyone to vote Elliot Lake in the upcoming Kraft Hockeyville campaign.
A weekend jam-packed full of hockey kicked off Friday morning at 10:30 with the hometown Panthers taking on the visiting North Bay Trappers. A fast-paced first period ended with goals being scored by Chase Taylor and Cooper Farquhar, both assisted by Captain Anders Watson to give the Panthers a 2-0 lead going into the second. An impressive effort by goalie Liam Stephens kept the second period scoreless.
Headed into the third period, the Panthers refused to stop the push that they had put on the Trappers. A goal by Cohen Rajotte from Anders Watson and a goal by Lincoln Rancourt from teammates Colten Martin and Spencer Cortes resulted in a 4-1 victory.
After incredible opening ceremonies, the Panthers were ready for the next opponents, The Powassan Hawks. At the end of a hard fought first period Max McLeod scored the first goal of the game for the Panthers assisted by Colten Martin. Starting off the second period strong with an unassisted goal by Cooper Farquhar the Panthers took a 2-0 lead. An impressive effort from goaltender Declan McGonegal and a few penalties ended game two in a 2-2 tie.
Saturday morning the Panthers found themselves taking on the Temiskaming Shores Puckhounds. Another hard-fought game from both teams ended in a 2-2 tie with two goals from Bryden Romaniuk, assisted by Cooper Farquhar, Anders Watson and Chase Taylor.
For their fourth and final game of round-robin play, the Panthers took to the ice to compete against the Iroquois Falls Eskimos. Another great effort from goaltender Declan McGonegal and hard defensive and offensive play from the whole team, with a special shout out to Spencer Cortes who seemed to get everywhere and anywhere with his impressive speed all weekend. The Panthers defeated Iroquois Falls 8-3, securing them the second place spot headed into the semifinals on Sunday where they would once again take on the Temiskaming Shores Puckhounds. After two unanswered goals by the Puckhounds in the first period and a scoreless second, the Panthers found themselves headed into the third period in desperate need of a pick-me-up. After a chance to regroup, the Panthers came out for the third period determined that this was not the end of their tournament. In what was the most exciting third period of the tournament Max McLeod netted an unassisted goal to give the team the spark of hope that they were looking for. With 1 minute and 53 seconds left in the third, Anders Watson tied the game, assisted by Colten Holmes and Cooper Farquhar to take the Panthers into overtime.
In a nail-biting overtime, with two minutes and 45 seconds left, defenceman Memphis Shawanda made a perfect pass up the middle to a waiting Anders Watson who hustled down on a breakaway to put away the winning goal, sending the Panthers to the championship game where they would once again face the North Bay Trappers.
With a full arena, the Trappers got out to an early 1-0 lead but that would be the only goal that goaltender Liam Stephens would allow them to get. The Trappers worked hard and gave it their all but the Panthers refused to give up the chance to win the championship on their home ice. With three goals from Anders Watson and one from Cooper Farquhar, the Panthers took the tournament in front of family, friends and fans with a 4-1 victory.
The Panthers Association is so proud of players Alex Bourcier, Anders Watson, Brayden Armstrong, Bryden Romaniuk, Charmaine Webkamigad, Chase Taylor, Cohen Rajotte, Colten Holmes, Colten Martin, Cooper Farquhar, Declan McGonegal, Liam Stephens, Lincoln Rancourt, Max McLeod, Memphis Shawanda, Roen Dechenes, Ryan Carter and Spencer Cortes. Congratulations to head coach Scott Stephens, assistant coach Nelson Dechenes, assistant coach Reid Taylor, trainers Curtis Watson and Roxanne Romaniuk.
The tournament committee and Manitoulin Panthers Hockey Association would like to thank the following Sponsors for their generous donations: Noojmowin-Teg, Pizza Forno, Route 6 Gas Bar, Little Current Lions Club, Town Of NEMI, Mindemoya Guardian Pharmacy, Bourcier Funeral Home, Farquhar’s Dairy, Orr’s Valumart, Skater’s Edge, Manitoulin-West Sudbury Dairy Producers, 3 Cows & A Cone, Farquhar Massey Wholesale, The Goods Handmade, OJ Graphix, PaperWorks and Elliot Lake Meats and Deli.
Thank you to Sunset Sagutch, Delilah Bourcier, Mackenzie Cortes, Mayor MacNevin and Michael Mantha for being a part of the very memorable opening ceremonies. Last, but never least, thank you to the countless volunteers that made this event possible, it couldn’t have been done without any of you.
Go Panthers!
