The
Eastern Ontario Wild major ban-tam AAA team has advanced
to the provincial championships after sweeping past the
Ottawa Jr. 67s in the Hockey East Ontario (HEO) finals in
four straight games.
The Wild
won the first three games 9-2, 4-0 and 5-1 and then clinched
the title in emphatic fashion with a 10-0 win in Game 4.
After
amassing an impressive 33-2-1 record on their way to winning
the minor bantam championship last year, the Wild totally
dominated the rest of the HEO this past season going undefeated
in 38 games. Even when you include the four losses, they
still managed to compile a 64-4-4 record.
But all
that goes out the window as they prepare to take on the
best bantam teams from across the province in the All Ontario
Championships which are being held in Toronto from April
1-6.
For the
Wild to make it out of the round robin portion of the tournament
and into the playoffs, they will need to continue to get
significant production from the dynamic duo of Cedric Guindon
and David Goyette who both have more than 50 goals and 100
points so far this season � and that doesn't include tournament
action.
In 37
regular season and payoff games, Guindon scored 61 goals
and added 56 assists for a total of 117 points, while Goyette
has 53 goals and 64 assists in 38 games. A third player,
Brayden Bowen, scored 32 goals and added 53 assists in 38
games.
During
the regular season, the Wild scored a total of 247 goals,
135 more than their closet rivals. They also gave up a league
least 43 goals, which is half as many as the next team.
That's a goals for and against record of plus 204, which
works out to more than six goals per game.
The man
responsible for harnessing the players' immense talents
is veteran head coach John Robillard who is retiring once
the season is over after spending the better part of 25
years behind the bench, most of which were spent with the
Gloucester Rangers organization.
The team's
success on the ice this year carried over to the recent
CCHL bantam draft during which every player on the roster
was picked up.
Bowen
and Goyette were selected third and fourth overall by the
Cornwall Colts and the Hawkesbury Hawks respectively, and
Guindon was selected 11th overall by the Rockland Nationals.
The first
Orléans area player to be drafted was defenceman Cedricson
Okitundu who was selected 34th overall by the Navan Grads
in the fourth round.
Fellow
Orléans prospects Chrisitan Berini (21st - Rockland); Nicolas
White (38th - Rockland); Liam Hunter (46th - Navan); and
Ethan Shore (50th - Rockland) were also selected.
(This
story was made possible thanks to the generous support of
our local business partners.)
SDBC TAPROOM CONCERTS PRESENTS Rory Taillon live and in concert at the Stray Dog Brewing Company, 510 Lacolle Way in the Taylor Creek Business Park. Doors open 7:30 p.m. Tickets $10 in advance and $15 at the door.
TRIVIA NIGHT from 7:30 p.m. every Tuesday night at the Royal Oak Pub Orléans. Free to play. Prizes for the winning team! The Royal Oak Pub is located at 1981 St. Joseph Blvd. near Jeanne d'Arc. For more info visit 
TRIVIA NIGHT from 6:30 p.m. at the Stray Dog Brewing Company. Exercise your grey matter before it turns to mush over the holidays. Reservations are a must to secure your spot. Send your team name and number of people to info@straydogbrewing.ca. The Stray Dog Brewing Company is located at 501 Lacolle Way.
OPEN MIC NIGHT at the Stray Dog Brewing Company, 501 Lacolle Way. Registration begins at 7 p.m. Music at 8 p.m. with your host Matthew Palmer.
CUMBERLAND INDOOR WINTER MARKET from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the R.J. Kennedy Arena in Cumberland Village featuring local produce and products and items produced my local artisans PLUS a cash style breakfast.
