There may have been some early mismatches in preliminary round play, but by the time the finals rolled around Sunday afternoon at the 2012 Nickel City Shootout, the drama was unmistakable.
In the very last game of the 34-team tournament at Carmichael Arena, the Sudbury Rockhounds and Orangeville Northmen staged a memorable roller-coaster ride for all those on hand over the final 15 minutes or so.
Trailing 3-2 in the third, the Rockhounds received power play markers from both Riley Campbell and Wesley Blacklock on the same checking-from-behind double minor to take the lead.
The Northmen took less than 40 seconds to answer and, with Sudbury assessed a major penalty late, Orangeville netted the game-winner, picking up a 5-4 victory with just 1:14 to play. Austin Bouchard and Mitchell Mousseau scored earlier in the game for the homeside.
The Sudbury contingent did emerge with a pair of championship banners courtesy of its two youngest delegations.
The Tyke Rockhounds bounced the Clarington Gaels 9-4 as Mason Lachance paced the winners with a hat trick, while Jack Moskalyk and Ben Harris chipped in with two goals each. Atley Gringorten and Caleb Langlois rounded out the scoring for the local tykes, who jumped out to a 4-0 first-period lead and never looked back.
No such advantage for the Novices, who fought tooth and nail to the bitter end before slipping past the Kawartha Lakes Fury 4-3. Ethan Rogers led the way with a two-goal effort with singles coming from Ty Parsons and Max McCue as the Rockhounds reeled off five straight wins en route to the championship.
The Sudbury Peewees matched the midgets, falling just one game short after advancing to the championship final before dropping an 8-5 decision to the Kawartha Lakes Fury. Julian Simeoni scored three times in a losing cause, with the remaining Rockhound goals coming courtesy of Calvin Puro and Mathieu Dokis-Dupuis.
The Sudbury Bantams advanced to the semifinals, before being eliminated in a 10-3 loss to the Innisfil Wolfpack, who went on to claim gold with a 5-3 win over the Sault Ste. Marie Spartans.
Riley Roy, Tristan Simeoni and Ward Kyle tallied for Sudbury in the semifinal loss.
The Rockhounds did not field a rep team at the Intermediate level this year.
Posted by Laurel Myers
