Huron Heat teams win gold, silver at Stratford Aces Festival Cup Challenge

BY SHAWN LOUGHLIN

Two Huron Heat teams found success at the 2023 Stratford Aces Festival Cup Challenge tournament over the weekend, with the U11 B Heat winning it all and the U18 C Heat coming away with a silver medal.

 

The U11 B Heat beat the St. Marys Rock to win the gold, prevailing by a score of 2-1 in the final, while the U18 C Heat came up just short with a 6-2 loss to the Chatham-Kent Crush.

 

To punch their tickets to the finals, the U11 BB Heat defeated the Peterborough Ice Kats by a score of 3-2, while in the other semi-final, the St. Marys Rock defeated the London Devilettes by a score of 1-0. In the U18 C bracket, the Huron Heat beat the Huron-Bruce 86ers in the semi-final round by a score of 3-2, while the other semi-final saw the Chatham-Kent Crush beat the Wilmot Wolverines by a score of 4-1 to set up the championship game.

 

The U11 BB Heat opened their tournament with a 1-1 tie with the North Halton Twisters on Nov. 17, followed by a 1-0 loss to the St. Marys Rock on Nov. 18, leading to Sunday’s semi-final games.

 

The U18 C Heat also opened their tournament play with a tie, a 2-2 draw with the Huron-Bruce 86ers on Nov. 17, followed by a 3-0 win over the Wilmot Wolverines later that night.

 

The Heat then beat the St. Thomas Panthers on Nov. 18 by a score of 5-1, followed by another win for the locals, this time a 2-1 victory over the Belmont Blazers to earn a berth in one of Sunday’s semi-final games.

 

The U13 BB Heat also played in the Stratford tournament over the weekend, opening with a 7-2 win over the Brantford Ice Cats and a scoreless tie with the Ayr Rockets, both on Nov. 17.

 

The team then registered another scoreless tie on Nov. 18 with the St. Thomas Panthers, followed by a 2-1 defeat at the hands of the Brantford Ice Cats, the eventual tournament winners, ending the tournament for the Heat.

 

The U11 HL Heat also found silver medal success at the annual Panther Pride Tournament in Newmarket, falling to the Toronto Leaside Wildcats Black team in the finals by a score of 2-1.

 

The team opened tournament play with a game against the Central York Panthers Green team on Nov. 17, which ended in a 4-4 tie, followed by a 5-0 win over the Toronto Leaside Wildcats Royal team later that afternoon.

 

On Nov. 18, the Huron Heat tied the Sudbury Lady Lynx at one, followed by a 4-1 win over the Central York Panthers Red team, earning them a spot in the semi-final round on Nov. 19. There, the Heat played the Sudbury Lady Panthers and won by a score of 2-0, sending them to the finals.

 

Also on the weekend, the U18 BB Heat were in Barrie to take part in the annual Sharkfest tournament.

 

The team opened with a 3-1 defeat at the hands of the Ottawa Valley Thunder on Nov. 17, followed by a 3-2 win over the host Barrie Sharks later that night.

 

The next day, two Huron County teams - the Huron Heat and the South Huron Sabres - travelled all the way to Barrie to play one another, with the Sabres coming out on top of a 2-1 score. The Heat then played the Ottawa Valley Thunder again that afternoon, losing by a score of 3-2, ending their tournament.

 

In regular season action on Nov. 19, the U13 HL Heat beat the Wallaceburg Lakers HL team by a score of 5-0 in Clinton, followed by a 1-0 for the U15 BB Heat at the hands of the Lakeshore Lightning, also in Clinton.

 

The U11 C Heat beat the Lucan Irish C team in Lucan by a score of 4-0, while the U15 C Heat beat the West Oxford Inferno C team on the road by a score of 5-1.

 

Also that day, the U13 C Heat beat the Lucan Irish by a score of 4-1 in an exhibition game in Clinton, while the U9 HL team played the North Middlesex Junior Stars on the road, though a score was not kept for that game.

 

On Nov. 17, the Senior team was in Belmore for a game, while on Nov. 18 they went to Wilmot to take on the Wolverines, the same night the U9 C and HL teams were in Ilderton to play two Jets teams, but scores for those games were unavailable at press time.

 

On Nov. 14, the U18 BB Heat were in Wilmot to play the Wolverines, but came back on the wrong end of a 4-1 score.

 

On Nov. 21, the U15 BB Heat were in Wilmot to play the Wolverines and the U15 C Heat  hosted the Central Perth Predators C team in Seaforth, but scores for those games were unavailable at press time. The U11 BB Heat were in Ayr to play the Rockets on Nov. 22, but a score for that game was unavailable at press time.

 

Looking ahead, it’s a busy week for the Heat. The U9 HL Heat will welcome the South Huron Sabres to Seaforth on Nov. 25, followed by a game between the U9 B Heat and the Guelph Junior Gryphons, also in Seaforth.

 

The U13 HL Heat will host the Lambton Attack HL team in Goderich that day, while the U13 C Heat will be on the road to play the Woodstock Wildcats C team and the U11 BB Heat will welcome the Owen Sound Ice Hawks to Blyth.

 

There are then eight Heat teams on the road that afternoon and night. The U13 BB Heat are playing the Windsor Wildcats, the U18 BB Heat are playing the Cambridge Roadrunners, the U9 C Heat are playing the St. Marys Rock, the U15 C Heat are playing the Woodstock Wildcats C team, the U13 BB Heat are playing the Windsor Wildcats, the U11 HL team will play the Ilderton Jets HL team, the U18 C Heat will play the South Huron Sabres HL team and the U15 BB team will play the Guelph Junior Gryphons.

 

The next day, the U11 C Heat will play the North Middlesex Junior Stars C team, the U11 BB Heat will play the London Devilettes, the U9 B Heat will play the Guelph Junior Gryphons and the U11 HL team will play the Bluewater Hawks HL team, all on the road, while the Senior team will host Milverton in Hensall and the U18 C Heat will welcome the West Oxford Inferno C team to Seaforth that night.

 

On Nov. 28, the U15 C Heat will host Lucan/Parkhill C in Seaforth, followed by a game between the U18 BB Heat and the South Huron Sabres on the road the next night.

 

Then, on the weekend of Dec. 1-3, the U11 C, U9 C and U9 HL Heat teams will head to Exeter to take part in the annual South Huron Pink on the Rink Tournament, while the U13 HL and U15 C Heat teams will be in St. Thomas for the Panthers on the Prowl tournament and the U9 B team will play in the annual Woodstock Wildcats Tournament.

 

The U9 HL team will start their tournament with a game against the North Middlesex Junior Stars on Dec. 1, followed by a game with the Upper Maitland Mustangs later that day and games with the Bluewater Hawks and the Twin Centre Hericanes the next day.

 

The U13 HL team will play the Kitchener Lady Rangers to open their tournament play on Dec. 1, followed by a game with the Flamborough Falcons. On Dec. 2, the team will play the Windsor Wildcats in hopes of playing again on Sunday.

 

The U11 C Heat will first play the North Middlesex Junior Stars to open their tournament on Dec. 1, followed by a contest with the Upper Maitland Mustangs. The next day, the team will take on the Lucan Irish and the South Huron Sabres.

 

The U15 C Heat will first play the Belmont Blazers on Dec. 1, followed by a game with the St. Thomas Panthers later that afternoon and a game with the Lambeth Lancers the next day.

 

Finally, the U9 C team will first play the Chatham-Kent Crush 2 team on Dec. 1 to open their tournament play, followed by a game with the Chatham-Kent Crush 1 team later that afternoon and a game with the Lucan Irish the following morning and the Ilderton Jets that afternoon.