The Cumberland Jr. Grads U12 AA team can add the Bell Capital Cup to their trophy case after they defeated the Kanata Blazers 3-2 in the tournament finale on Dec. 31.
The Grads opened the scoring on a goal by Benjamin McGee less than two minutes after the opening face off.

The Blazers would eventually tie the game early in the second period on a goal by Alexander Niu.

The deadlock was short-lived, however, as Noah Labreche put the Jr. Grads back in fron with a goal at the 7:14 mark of the second.

Nolan Stanzell would extend the Jr. Grads lead to 3-1 when he scored unassisted at the 4:07 mark of the third period.

Less than two minutes later, Harrison Mitchell beat Jr. Grads keeper Phoenix Zettel to once again make it a one goal game.

Fortunately, the Jr. Grads were able to protect their advantage and hang on for the win, even after the Blazers pulled their goalie for an extra attacker in the final minute.
This is the second time in a row that an east end team has managed to capture the U12 AA division. The Gloucester Rangers accomplished the feat last year.

The Jr. Grads started round robin play with a 2-1 win over the Rideau St. Lawrence Kings on Dec. 28. They followed that up with a 3-1 win over the Troy Albany Titans later the same day.

When they returned to the rink the next morning, they beat their east end rivals, the Gloucester Rangers, 1-0 with Zettel and fellow keeper Luka El-Zarka sharing the shutout honours.

The two keepers would combine for another shutout in a 2-0 win over the Flamborough Sabres in the team’s fourth game of the tournament to maintain their unbeaten record and earn a bye into the semi-finals where they would play a rematch against the Gloucester Rangers with same 1-0 result.

The Jr. Grads lone goal in the game was scored by Jackson Kosch at the 6:54 mark of the second period.

After the win, the team had just two and a half hours to prepare for their game against the Kanata Blazers, who currently sit in first place in the Hockey Eastern Ontario standings and who beat them 5-1 less than 10 days previous. In fact, that was their only loss in their last 10 games heading into the tournament.

It’s been a major turnaround for a team that started the season 2-5. Even so they currently sit in fifth place midway through the season. They’re one point back of the fourth place Rangers, who have a game in hand, and four points back of the Blazers.

Twelve different players have scored for the Jr. Grads in their first 17 league games. Kosch has so far led the way with nine goals and six assists, but he is being challenged for the team lead by both Stanzell, who has nine goals and five assists, and Mason Beauvais, who has eight goals and five assists.

Kosch had a goal and four assists during the Bell Capital Cup, but the team’s leading scorer was Benjamin McGee who finished the tournament with three goals and two assists.

The team’s coaching staff, led by head coach Tim Kosch, are hoping their players will be able to ride their recent success all the way to first place and potentially a league championship banner.