A pair of second-period goals from captain Logan Hawery propelled the Barrie Jr. Colts U16 AAA hockey team past the Elgin-Middlesex Canucks at the OHL Cup in Toronto this morning.
With the win, the Colts (3-0) remain undefeated at the year-end showcase tournament. One of the top teams in the province, Barrie's U16 AAA team has been the No. 2-ranked team in Ontario for most of the season. They came into the tournament as Ontario Minor Hockey Association (OMHA) champions.
The OHL Cup features the top U16 teams from around Ontario. The tournament is one last opportunity for scouts and fans to see many of the top U16 AAA players from across Ontario and parts of the United States compete in a best-on-best format prior to the 2024 OHL Priority Selection on April 12 and 13.
Elgin-Middlesex opened the scoring in Wednesday morning's game as Tyran Lawson potted his first of the tournament just three minutes in.
Barrie's Nathan Amidovski, who has scored in every game so far at the OHL Cup, knotted the game at 1-1 around the 11-minute mark with his fifth goal of the tournament. Alex McLean, who was coming off a four-assist game on Tuesday, and James Elliott had the helpers on the goal.
Just 48 seconds into the middle stanza, Hawery found the back of the net to put Barrie up 2-1. McLean and Kent Greer picked up assists on the play.
At 8:14 of the second period, Canucks defenceman James MacGregor evened the affair at 2-2.
Two minutes later, Hawery scored his second of the game to make it 3-2, which turned out to be the final score following a goal-less third period. Troy Patton and Joshua Denes assisted on the game-winning goal.
Barrie goalie Mateo Beites turned aside 17 of the 19 shots he faced Wednesday morning.
Hawery was named game MVP for his team.
“I thought we started off a little slow, but we got better as the game went on and got the win. That’s all that matters," Hawery said on the OHL Cup website.
In their last round-robin game, Barrie will face off against Team NOHA (1-1) tonight at 7 p.m. at Scotiabank Pond.
“We just have to play how we’ve been playing all year. Don’t change anything and stay consistent," Hawery said of tonight's game.
The 2024 OHL Cup got underway Monday in Toronto with three wild-card play-in games, along with 14 additional match-ups on the round-robin schedule. Teams are divided into four divisions of five teams each. Barrie's division includes Mississauga, Elgin-Middlesex, NOHA and Ottawa Valley.
The tournament continues Thursday with semifinal action and concludes with Saturday’s championship final at the Mattamy Athletic Centre in downtown Toronto.
The Colts opened the tournament on Monday with a 3-2 overtime win over the Mississauga Rebels, and followed that up on Tuesday with a 5-1 victory over the Ottawa Valley Titans.
For more information on the tournament, including scores and a schedule, click here.
