That competitiveness was on full display Feb. 22-24 as the Sudbury Minor Hockey Association hosted the annual Wayne and Lucie Eadie Friendship Tournament, attracting teams from across the province and into Quebec.
In fact, the L'Ami Rouyn-Noranda Honda midgets returned for a second year, advancing through to the A final and battling the SMHA Knights for a second time on the weekend.
In the end, the Knights duplicated their Feb. 22 victory, edging the Quebec squad by a 3-2 count for a second straight time as Trevor Romanyszyn paced the attack with a two-goal effort.
The second midget final was equally as close as the Copper Cliff Eagles edged the SMHA Wolverines 2-1 in the Division B title game. Chris Charbonneau and Dan Valade hit the mark for the winners, with Matthew Principi replying with the only goal in a losing cause.
The opposite end of the spectrum also produced ultra-competitive championship encounters as the Nickel Centre Sting captured the Atom A crown with a 3-2 win over Sudbury Lowes Dragons.
Jordan Faught, Owen Pawluk and Devon Savignac scored for the winners, with Aidan McCauley and Nicolas Narozanski countering in a losing cause.
Nick Fogarty scored twice as Valley East Brankor Trophies doubled the Rayside-Balfour Tiger Cats 4-2, laying claim to the Atom B banner.
Justin Basso was a one-man wrecking crew in the Peewee final, rifling four goals as the Sudbury Monsters nipped the Sudbury Jets 4-3.
The SMHA Just Lubes Oilers proved to be the class of the Bantam division, blanking the Sudbury Ice Dogs 4-0 with all the marbles on the line.
Jakob Mancini showed the way for the Oilers with a hat trick, Jack Wareham chipped in with a solo marker and Dylan Dokis stood tall between the pipes at the opposite end of the rink.
Finally, in the Minor Midget championship affair, the SMHA Global Phantoms stopped the SMHA Ethier Crushers 5-3. K. Lebreton (3), T. Smith and M. Henry found the back of the net for the Phantoms, while Gavin Lefebvre, Cameron Quenville and Fred Rochon countered with one goal apiece for the Crushers.
