The Gloucester Rangers U12 AA team are Bell Capital Cup champions after coming back from a goal down with less than a minute to play against the Seaway Valley Rapids in the final to win 3-2 in overtime.
Isaac Potvin scored his third goal of the tournament with 48 seconds left on the clock to tie the game and then James Kitchen scored his second of the game and third of the tournament just 50 seconds into the extra system to give the Rangers the win.
The game started out with the Rapids very much on the front foot, pressuring the Rangers for the better part of the first two minutes.
The momentum sharply flipped in the Rangers favour at the 2:19 mark when the Rapids took concurrent minor penalties – one for having too many men on the ice and a second for unsportsmanlike conduct.
Unfortunately, the Rangers were unable to capitalize with the two man advantage and the score remained 1-0 in favour of
Seaway until the 6:37 mark of the opening period when Kitchen scored on a wrap around to tie the game at 1-1.
Seaway retook the lead with a power play goal at the 1:11 mark of the second period and then held for the next 22 minutes until Potvin’s game tying goal on a perfectly executed wrap around in the final minute that gave the Rangers a new lease on life.
On the game winning goal, Kitchen carried the puck into the Rapids’ end from the blueline and then potted in his own rebound to start a wild celebration.
The Rangers had an outstanding tournament, going a perfect 6-0 with four wins in the round robin portion of the competition and a 4-1 win over the Markham Islanders in the semi-final.
Kitchen lead the way on offence for the Rangers with three goals and two assists in six games. John McClelland contributed four points on four goals and Dimitris
Theodossiou had two goals and three assists.
Clement Raymond Tsai played between the pipes in the final and made two spectacular saves in the third period to keep his team in the game.
Tsai shared the goaltending duties with Liam Armstrong who allowed just three goals in three games.
The Rangers are hoping to use the win to energize their Hockey East Ontario campaign. The team currently sits in third place in a highly competitive division where the top five teams are separated by just seven points.
KARAOKE NIGHT upper floor of the Orléans Legion, 800 Taylor Creek Rd. starting at 7 p.m. Grab the mic and sing your favourite songs while your friends are cheering you on. All skill levels welcome.
THETRIVIA 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 in the Taylor Creek Business Park.
CHAPEL SUMMER SIZZLER EVENT hosted by the Chapel Hill South Community Association from 5 p.m. in Blue Willow Park Free BBQ, kids activities and movie. Everyone welcome.
