One series remaining on the road to provincial Junior C Schmalz Cup

May 1, 2025 · 0 Comments

By Brian Lockhart

There is one series left to be decided to see who will play for the 2025 provincial Junior C Schmalz Cup.

The Essex 73s are the first entry in this year’s championship series.

The 73s, representing the West Conference, eliminated the New Hamburg Firebirds from the South Conference in a semi-final series that went five games.

That series got underway on April 17, with New Hamburg coming out on top 2-1 in the first game. But that’s all they could do.

Essex responded by winning four in a row, but it was a tough battle between two well-disciplined and talented squads.

Essex won Game 2 by a score of 2-1. The third game resulted in a 3-1 Essex win.

The 73s won by a single goal in Game 4, leaving the ice with a 3-2 win.

They capped off the series on Sunday, April 27, with a 2-1 win to take the series and advance to the championship.

The remaining series has the North Conference champions, Hanover Barons, up against the Napanee Raiders representing the East Conference.

Napanee is leading that series 3-2.

The series got underway on April 17. Game 1 gave the Raiders a 1-0 edge with a 3-1 win to open the series.

It was tied when Hanover won Game 2, 5-2 on April 18, on Napanee home ice.

Game 3 was a Napanee 2-1 win, but it took an overtime period to get the job done.

The Barons left the ice with a 5-2 win in Game 4.

Game 5 was another overtime game. The teams played to a 4-4 tie on Sunday, April 27, and returned for overtime to settle the game.

Napanee scored 19 seconds into the OT period for the win.

Game 6 of the series was scheduled for Tuesday, April 29, in Hanover. If the Raiders are successful, they can win the series. If Hanover rises to the challenge and wins the game, the series will return to Napanee for Game 7 on Thursday, May 1.

The winner of the series will go on to face the Essex 73s in the Schmalz Cup championship final series.