Article written by Mike Savage of the Stratford Beacon-Herald:
The Y-S Express is back on track at the Ontario Hockey Federation bantam AAA championships.
Top-ranked York-Simcoe put its vast talent on display at the RBC Arena Wednesday, winning a pair of games by a combined score of 19-2 to improve to 3-2 in the seven-team tournament.
The Express trounced winless Thunder Bay Kings 10-1 in the morning and all but eliminated the host Huron-Perth Lakers (1-4) from playoff contention with a 9-1 triumph last night.
“We played very well today and that gives us confidence for the rest of the week,” said York-Simcoe captain Daniel Catenacci, who had two goals and an assist in each game.
“We had a slow start to the tournament (losses to Elgin-Middlesex Chiefs and Toronto Marlboros) but we feel we’re getting hot at the right time.”
Which is bad news for the rest of the field, including first-place Toronto (5-0) and second-place Elgin-Middlesex (4-0), who were to meet early this morning. The winner would clinch first place while the loser would finish second and have a semifinal matchup against, in all likelihood, York-Simcoe. The Chiefs conclude pool play in the afternoon against Thunder Bay (0-5).
“We feel we’re capable of beating both the Chiefs and the Marlies,” said Express coach Maurice Catenacci. “But you never know in a tournament like this. Anyone can beat anyone on a given day and we’ve got to make sure that we continue playing well.
“We had good puck movement and some success on our powerplay today. Those two elements are a big part of our game.”
Calvin Higley, with two, Barclay Goodrow, Dylan Kovacs, Adam MacEachern, Brandon Francisco and Jeffrey Dinallo also scored against the Lakers, while Garrett Meurs, of Ripley, replied for Huron-Perth.
In their win over Thunder Bay, the Express got two-goal efforts from Catenacci, Goodrow and MacEachern, and single markers from Dinallo, Francisco, Kovacs and Steven Janes. Anthony Russo scored for the Kings.
The Lakers, meanwhile, have the faintest of hopes at reaching Friday’s playoffs. They need York-Simcoe to defeat Soo Thunder (2-3), which is likely, but must defeat Upper Canada Cyclones (2-3) by at least seven goals to emerge from a three-way tie with the Thunder and Cyclones to claim fourth place.
“We’re going to do all we can (to get a win against Upper Canada),” said the Lakers’ David Dalby, of Stratford.
Win or lose, Dalby says the experience of competing in a provincial championship in his hometown has been an enjoyable one.
“The tournament has been really well-run and the competition is great,” he said. “There are some really good teams here but I think Toronto is the best. York-Simcoe is very good, too, but we didn’t play particularly well against them.”
In their afternoon game Wednesday, the Lakers held their own against the Marlies but lost 4-1. Lucas Lessio, Zach Mitchell, Evan Rodriguez and Ryan Strome scored in the win, while Listowel’s Mac Nichol replied for the Lakers. Meurs and Stratford’s Brad McClure drew assists.
In Wednesday’s other games, Upper Canada got a pair of goals from Dylan Rogers and one from Dylan Giberson in a 3-0 win over Soo. The Cyclones later downed Thunder Bay 6-1 as Ryan Van Stralen scored twice and Dylan Gareau, Zach Pelletier, Rogers and Cory Wilson once each.
Elgin-Middlesex got goals from Mackenzie Beaton, Bryan McCauley and Jacob Worrad in a 3-1 win over Soo. Matthew Honsberger replied in the loss.
NOTES — York-Simcoe won the Sparta Praha Elite tournament in the Czech Republic over the Christmas holidays and attended three of Team Canada’s games at the World Junior tournament in Pardubice. “It was a great lesson both in hockey and in life,” said Daniel Catenacci, “and an experience we’ll never forget.”