THUNDER BAY – Ed Atwill would have liked an extra point, but he’ll settle for a 1-1 tie to open the 2017 All Ontario Bantam AAA Championship.
The Thunder Bay Kings coach on Monday rode a solid goaltending performance from Stephan Bourgeois, who stopped 17 shots to earn his team a single point.
Vincent Labelle was the only Ottawa Jr. 67’s player to beat the Kings netminder, scoring on an odd-man rush at the 11:50 mark of the opening period, going five-hole along the ice against Bourgeois.
The lead held up until three minutes into the second, when Thunder Bay’s Michael Stubbs went high short-side on Ottawa goalie William McEvoy, firing it just under the crossbar for the equalizer – the power-play marker turning out to be the final goal of the contest.
Atwill said he wanted to see how his team stacked up against a largely unfamiliar field. So far, so good, he said.
“It’s a good way to start. We would have liked to have gotten the win, but the way we came out in the first five minutes, we knew right away we were in this game. We are as good as they are and I really liked our start,” Atwill said.
“The kids came out ready to play.”
It started with the decision-making process. The Kings weren’t second-guessing themselves, Atwill said.
“They started out the game, they saw the play they wanted to make and they made the play,” he said. “They were very decisive. We had a good game plan. Our structure was good, so we did what we wanted to do.
“All we need to clean up is our consistency. We just have to consistently make the good plays. We can skate with anybody.”
Bourgeois, who came up big on a number of occasions, helped seal the victory.
He made a huge toe save on Labelle early in the second, then made a pair of stops while laying on the ice, his team a man down, Ottawa’s Simon Labelle unable to life the puck into the empty net.
“After the start, that first goal put me down, but I had to refocus,” Bourgeois said. “I kept it up and made sure my team was in there.”
Thunder Bay’s Tristan Goodman rang one off the crossbar in the opening minutes of the second, the Kings missing a chance to even the score at the time.
A giveaway by Ottawa forward Evan Boucher two minutes into the third gave the host Kings a chance to go up 2-1, but Dawson Lampi fired it high on McEvoy.
The Kings take on the North Bay Trappers on Monday night at 7:30 p.m., while Ottawa squares off against the Cambridge Hawks at 5 p.m.
North Bay 6, Fort Frances 1: Eric Lafontaine and Jesse Kirkby had a pair of goals apiece to lead the Trappers to an easy opening win. Carter Armstrong had the lone goal for the Canadians, a third-period tally assisted by Joe Jordan.
Toronto 1, Cambridge 0: Nick Clay made 20 saves for the Hawks, but the Marlboros prevailed thanks to Kallway Mercer's first-period goal, the only score of the hockey game. Connor Mackenzie made 14 stops for the shutout.
