Minor Hawks shine in Orangeville pre-season tournament

September 23, 2015 · 0 Comments

By Jake Courtepatte
Kids may still be showing up to the rink in shorts, but a number of Caledon Minor Hockey teams already have championships under their belts this season.
The Orangeville Flyers hosted their annual Early Bird Tournament last weekend, with teams coming from as far away as Barrie and Stoney Creek to scope out the competition before the season heats up.
One of four Caledon AE teams in the tournament, the minor atom AE’s blew away the competition in their seven-team division.
They opened play with a close 4-3 win over the hometown Flyers, before cruising their way to the semifinals by scores of 10-1 and 9-0, meeting Orangeville once again Sunday morning. They faced a much more confident Hawks squad than they had a few days earlier, with the Hawks coming out on top 11-1 to book their ticket into the final game.
It was a clash of the undefeated teams, as the Hawks met the Barrie Colts for the first time in the tournament. A hard-fought game had the Hawks squeak by to the championship by a 4-3 score.
The minor peewee MD Hawks were able to get a good look at their regular season rivals early, as one of only three teams entered in their division, along with Orangeville and the Brampton 45’s. They took down each of their opponents twice over the course of two days, setting up their third match of the weekend with the Flyers for the championship.
They would double up on the Flyers to become the second Caledon team to take home a first-place trophy.
Four teams were vying for the minor midget MD title, with Caledon having to take on the likes of Orangeville, Vaughan and Burlington. A 3-3 tie with Orangeville to kick off the tournament was the preface to an excitingly even championship game, where they would meet again Sunday, this time heading to overtime to decide the champion.
The Hawks prevailed over the Flyers again, as the minor midgets earned Caledon’s third championship of the tournament by a score of 6-5.
For more information on Caledon Minor Hockey, check out www.caledonminorhockey.ca