The Barrie Jr. Colts U16 team, one of the top-ranked squads in the province, opened the year-end OHL Cup tournament on a winning note Monday in Toronto.
The Colts, who have been the No. 2-ranked team in Ontario for most of the season, defeated the Mississauga Rebels in overtime by a 3-2 margin. Barrie's Nathan Amidovski scored the game-winning goal and was named game MVP for his team.
Mississauga goalie Gavin Betts, who had missed the entire season due to injury, took home MVP honours for his team after making 39 saves.
The Barrie team comes into the tournament as Ontario Minor Hockey Association (OMHA) champions.
The OHL Cup features the top U16 teams from around Ontario. The showcase 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.
With Mississauga trailing 2-1 with just over a minute left in the third period, Rebels forward Cole Zurawski scored to send the game into overtime.
Then, with only 17 seconds left on the clock, Amidovski potted the game-winner on the power play for his first goal of the tournament.
“I haven’t had many overtime winners, so to start off the tournament on a good note feels great," Amidovski said on the OHL Cup website. "I think our team could have started off better throughout the game, but it’s important that we got the job done."
The Alliston native had 40 goals during the regular season.
In a back-and-forth affair, Barrie's James Elliot opened the scoring just four minutes in, assisted by Alex McLean, but Mississauga knotted the game at 1-1 just two minutes later.
The Colts' Troy Patton put Barrie back in the lead near the midway point of the second, with Joshua Denes and Logan Hawery picking up assists on the power-play goal.
Barrie goalie Mateo Beites stopped 22 of 24 shots for the win.
The Barrie Jr. Colts are back in action this afternoon against the Ottawa Valley Titans. Puck drops at 3 p.m. at Scotiabank Pond. The Titans dropped a 4-3 decision to Mississauga on Monday.
Barrie also has a pair of games on Wednesday, facing Elgin-Middlesex at 10 a.m. and then Team NOHA at 7 p.m.
The 2024 OHL Cup, which is being hosted by the Greater Toronto Hockey League, got underway Monday in Toronto with three wild-card play-in games, along with 14 additional match-ups on the round-robin schedule.
The York-Simcoe Express blasted the Cambridge Hawks, 8-1, in one of the wild-card games. York-Simcoe's Jaxon Cover had a pair of goals to be named MVP for his team. The Express followed up that game with a 6-0 loss to the Oakville Rangers.
The Vaughan Kings downed Oakville, 4-3, in overtime. Former Barrie defenceman Cole Emerton scored early in the third period as the Kings rattled off three unanswered goals en route to the win.
The tournament continues today and Wednesday before quarter-final and semifinal action on Thursday, concluding with Saturday’s championship final at the Mattamy Athletic Centre.
For more information on the tournament, including scores and a schedule, click here.
