Thunder Bay, ON- The Hockey Northwestern Ontario (HNO) Midget AAA Branch Championship takes place March 4-6, 2016 in Kenora, Ontario. The best of three series will determine the Hockey Northwestern Ontario champion and representative at the 2016 Telus Cup Western Regional in Saskatoon.
Due to the geography of Northwestern Ontario the Thunder Bay Kings and Kenora Thistles don’t play each other all year and play in two different leagues. This makes the HNO Midget AAA championship unique compared to the other branches in Hockey Canada.
The Thunder Bay Kings return to Major Midget AAA after not running a program in 2014-15. Thunder Bay brings a young roster into the championship with fifteen, sixteen year old players on the roster. The Kings played in the North American Prospects Hockey League (NAPHL) posting a record of 7 wins, 16 losses and 2 shoot-out loses finishing sixteenth in the eighteen team league. Jacob Brown led the Kings in scoring with twelve goals and nineteen points in NAPHL play.
The Kings also compete in the Thunder Bay Junior B League posting a record of 13 wins and 11 loses with Brown leading the team in scoring. Thunder Bay captured the Troy Top Shelf North American Prospects Tournament in February with a 5-0-1 record and dropped three straight exhibition games to Shattuck St. Mary’s Under 18 AAA program in Faribault, Minnesota on February 20th and 21st.
The Kenora Thistles bring a veteran team into the Championship with thirteen, seventeen year olds on the roster. The Thistles play in the Manitoba Midget AAA Hockey League and posted a record of 21 wins, 21 loses and 2 shoot-out loses, finishing in seventh place. Coach Doug Novak leads the team that features six players that took part in the 2015 Telus Cup Western Regional. The Thistles featured two scores in the top ten in Manitoba with Adam Withers finishing fifth overall with twenty-one goals, thirty-five assists for fifty six points and Brendan Martin (22-30-52) finished seventh in league scoring. Goaltender Brock Aiken finished in the top five in the league in wins with eighteen to go with a goals against average of 3.50 and save percentage of .907.
Aiken was named the Manitoba Midget AAA League Goalie of the Month for December and teammate Connor Keith was named Defenseman of the Month for the same period of time.
The Thistles currently trail the Winnipeg Wild two games to none in the first round of the Manitoba league playoffs.
There is no gate fee for spectators to attend the 2016 Championships in Kenora at the Recreation Centre.
For updates on the 2016 Midget AAA Branch championship visit www.hockeyhno.com or follow us on twitter @HNOHockey.
Schedule
1. Friday March 4/16- Thunder Bay Kings vs. Kenora Thistles Kenora Rec Centre 7:30pm Central Time
2. Saturday March 5/16- Kenora Thistles vs. Thunder Bay Kings Kenora Rec Centre 7:30pm Central Time
3. Sunday March 6/16- Thunder Bay Kings vs. Kenora Thistles Kenora Rec Centre 1:30pm (if needed) Central Time
