Mar 29, 2022 | Shawn Patterson | 1860 views
U18 AAA Gryphons are OMHA Champions!!
The U18 AAA Gryphons are the 2022 OMHA Champions!!
This past weekend the U18 AAAs travelled to Oakville for the OMHA Championships.
In game 1 the Gryphons were up against the #5 ranked Oshawa Generals. The Generals came out strong and put a ton of pressure on the boys. It was back and forth action late in the game when the Gryphs put one away to take a 1-0 lead. With 22 secs left in the game and Oshawa's net empty, they scored to tie it up. This game would end up a 1-1 tie. Each game of the tournament the other team would select a MVP and this game was our goalie Hayden Sabourin.
In game 2 the Gryphons were up against the #1 in Ontario (#2 in Canada) ranked Ajax-Pickering Raiders. The Gryphs wasted no time jumping all over the Raiders and took an early lead mid-way through the 1st. AP didn't take long to get right back in the game tying it up a min and half later. A couple mins after that the Raiders would take the lead. This would be the only time the Gryphs trailed in the entire tournament. Heading into the 2nd down 2-1, the Gryphons would come out flying. Scoring early and then again a few mins later to take a 3-2 lead. With all the momentum heading into the 3rd, the boys would pop one home 36 secs in. Holding onto the lead the rest of the way through we took the W 4-2. MVP of the game went to our goalie Max Oldacre.
In game 3 the Gryphons were up against their SCTA rival Oakville Rangers. Going in the Rangers were trying to play spoilers but the Gryphons had nothing to do with that. 55 secs in we took the lead. Not looking back for a second the boys took it to the Rangers winning 6-1. MVP of the game was our captain Callum Snedden.
With the win over the Rangers the Gryphons took 1st place in our division. Up next was the York-Simcoe Express in the semi-finals. The game started off a little slow for both teams but then the Gryphs woke up taking it to the Express. Scoring late in the 2nd period the Gryphons would head into the 3rd with a 1-0 lead. In the 3rd, we would jump out to a 2-0 lead then a few mins later go up 3-0. York-Simcoe would pull the goalie, in a late game attempt, but we scored an empty netter to take the W 4-0. MVP of the game was our goalie Hayden Sabourin.
With family, friends, scouts, and more filling the arena the Gryphs were headed to the championship game. This game would see the Gryphons facing off against the Ajax-Pickering Raiders. The Raiders headed into this game obviously looking for redemption from the earlier lose in the round robin. The U18s would match everything the Raiders brought their way. We took the lead late in the 1st only to have the Raiders tie it up a min and half later. The 2nd period was back and forth action but no goals scored. Going into the 3rd the boys would come out flying scoring 2 goals mins apart to take a 3-1 lead. The Gryphs would take a penalty mid-way through the 3rd and just after killing it off the Raiders scored to make it 3-2. After what seemed to be a long 7 mins of nail-biting, tons of pressure by the Raiders, action the U18 AAA Guelph Gryphons would hear that final buzzer to take the 2022 OMHA Championships and win the #Redhats! The game MVP would go to Tristan Tremble.
Congratulations to Andy, Emma, Shawn, and all the players for an amazing tournament! Going undefeated and only trailing once the entire time is great feat. The U18 AAA Gryphons now head to the OHF Championships April 4-10th in Toronto at the Scotiabank Pond.
Monday 2:30 PM vs Reps AAA Hockey Club (GTHL)
Tuesday 3:00 PM vs Huron-Perth Lakers (Alliance)
Wednesday 5:30 PM vs Nepean Raiders (HEO)
Thursday 8:00 PM vs Toronto Young Nationals (GTHL - Host)
Friday 5:30 PM vs Soo Jr Greyhounds (NOHA)
Good luck and know that you have the entire association cheering for you boys!