The strategy paid off when Nicholas Rabito made a nice move in tight, lifting Stouffville to a 2-1 win over the Sudbury Minor Midget Bulldogs as three full days of competition wrapped up at the 26th annual edition of the Sudbury 80's Hockey Tournament.
Jeremy Hughes (Stouffville) and Kyle Guillot (Bulldogs) traded goals as the teams worked their way into the third overtime session before finding a winner.
The final game was the second one-goal loss for a local team, with both the SMHA and NCHA shutout from the hometown banners this time around. The Sudbury Novice Bulldogs also took things to overtime before eventually falling 4-3 to the Barrie Colts.
Nicolas Francoeur scored the game-winning goal on a very balanced Barrie squad, which also received goals from Josh Lock, Tanner Kowalski and Ryan Russell.
Atley Gringorten, Pierson Sobush and Benjamin Fowke replied for the Sudbury crew, who knocked off both the Copper Cliff Redmen and West Ferris Skater's Edge Trappers in round robin play.
The Sudbury Bulldogs Major Peewee representatives also had to settle for silver medals, dropping a 5-2 decision to the Gloucester Rangers in their divisional finale.
Tristan Taillefer paced the Gloucester attack with a two-goal effort, with singles coming from Jayden Tadiello, Scott Foxall and Jacob Lamont while Burke Speck and Joseph Cassio countered in a losing cause for Sudbury.
The Eastern Ontario Cobras earned bragging rights in the Minor Bantam grouping, besting a familiar foe with a 3-1 win over the Upper Ottawa Valley Aces.
Cameryn Griffiths, Charlie Fritzer and Noah Lindsay hit the score sheet for the Cobras while Evan Gillan accounted for all of the scoring for the Aces.
In the Major Bantam final, the Cobourg Jr. Cougars spotted the Caledon Hawks a 2-0 first-period lead, roaring back to collect the hardware with a 3-2 win.
Christopher Nikolaou, Isaak Hoskin and Matthew Smith found the mark for the winners, with David Ryan and Nicholas Barbosa countering with solo tallied for Caledon.
Finally, in major midget action, the Clarington Toros posted their second shutout of the weekend, blanking the Gloucester Rangers 3-0. Liam Osborne, Doug Andrews and Aaron Woods provided all of the offence that the Toros needed, scoring one goal apiece.
Clarington had played to a 2-2 tie earlier in the tournament with the Copper Cliff Redmen, though the locals dropped games to both the West End Bruins (2-1) and Gloucester (4-1), eventually capturing the consolation crown.
