Two Huron Heat teams reach Oakville Harvest Classic tournament semifinals
BY SHAWN LOUGHLIN
While two Huron Heat teams made it to their respective semi-final competitions at the Oakville Hornets’ annual Harvest Classic over the weekend, no one from the county was able to return home with gold around their neck.
On Sunday, the U18 BB Heat took on the Toronto Leaside Wildcats in the semi-finals of their bracket, but fell to the big-city team by a score of 4-0. That loss set up a championship game between two Wildcats teams, with the Wildcats Pederson team claiming gold by a score of 4-1.
In the U11 A division, the Heat made it to the semi-finals and a game with the Lambeth Lancers, but it was the Lancers who won by a score of 4-2. Then, in the final, the Lancers fell to the Napanee Crunch by a score of 4-3 to win the championship.
Earlier that day, the U18 BB Heat beat the North Halton Twisters in the playoff round to punch their ticket to the semi-final round, winning by a score of 2-1. Also playing that morning were the U13 A Huron Heat, taking on the Toronto Leaside Wildcats, but they lost by a score of 3-2 and failed to advance any further.
On Friday, when action began, the U11 A Heat beat the Grand River Mustangs by a score of 4-1, before beating the Guelph Gryphons by a score of 6-1 later that day.
The U15 A Heat lost their opening game of the tournament to the Waterloo Ravens by a score of 3-0 before losing their second game later that afternoon, falling to the Nepean Wildcats by a score of 5-0.
The U15 B Heat didn’t fare much better as their tournament began, falling to the Burlington Barracudas by a score of 3-0 in their opening game and then again to the Kincardine Kinucks by a score of 4-0 that evening.
On a brighter note, the U13 B Heat opened their tournament with a win, beating the Orangeville Tigers by a score of 2-0 and then a 2-1 win over the Kincardine Kinucks.
The U11 A Heat played the Guelph Gryphons to begin play and won by a score of 6-1 in their only game on Friday.
The U18 BB Heat played to a 2-2 tie with the North Halton Twisters in their first game of the tournament, followed by a 4-0 loss to the Toronto Leaside Wildcats Pederson team.
Play then continued on Saturday, as the U11 A Heat played the North Halton Twisters and won by a score of 3-1, but followed that up with a 3-2 loss to the Stoney Creek Sabres.
The U13 A Heat continued their tournament journey with a 5-0 victory over the Barrie Sharks, followed by a 2-0 shutout over the Toronto Leaside Wildcats.
The U18 BB Heat continued to roll with a 2-1 win over the Burlington Barracudas, followed by a win over the Ancaster Avalanche by the same 2-1 score.
The U15 A Heat lost to the Scarborough Sharks and then to the Napanee Crunch, both by scores of 4-0.
The U13 B Heat fell to the Toronto Leaside Wildcats by a score of 2-1 and then to the Kincardine Kinucks later that evening by a score of 1-0.
The U15 B Heat beat the Bluewater Hawks by a score of 2-1 and then won again, this time over the Mississauga Hurricanes by a score of 5-0.
In regular season action, there was only one game for Huron Heat teams apart from the tournament action in Oakville and that was a game between the U11 C Heat and the Upper Maitland Mustangs in Clinton on Sunday afternoon, although a score for that game was unavailable at press time.
Looking ahead, the U9 B Heat will play the London Devilettes in Seaforth on Saturday, Oct. 5. That same night, the U18 BB Heat will welcome the Waterloo Ravens to Clinton.
Also that day, the U13 HL will play the St. Thomas Panthers on the road, the U11 A Heat will play the Bluewater Hawks on the road and the U13 C Heat will play the South Huron Sabres in Blyth; all exhibition games.
On Sunday, the U13 A Heat will host the Mooretown Lady Flags in Clinton for a regular season game, while the U15 A Heat will also host the Woodstock Wildcats in Clinton for a regular season game. The U11 A Heat will welcome the Bluewater Hawks to Clinton that afternoon for an exhibition game.