Team NOHA readies for Ontario cup

The Northern Ontario Hockey Association confirmed this week that, for the second year in a row, it will be sending a team to the OHA Cup.

The event, which runs in Cambridge from March 6-9, is designed to specifically educate players and parents on the opportunities that exist beyond midget hockey, Team NOHA said in a release.

At the inaugural 2013 competition, 10 teams battled within the midget AAA category (including Team NOHA), while five other teams competed in the AA classification. Scouts from the OHA, OUA and OHL attended last year’s tournament, which would see Team NOHA post a record of four wins and two losses.

Making up this year's team of second and third-year midgets are:

Goaltenders
Devon Debastos (Timmins Majors)
Kevin Labelle (Nickel City Sons)

Defencemen
Caleb Boman (Sudbury Nickel Capital Wolves)
Mike Herd (New Liskeard Cubs)
Nick Hautanen (Timmins Majors)
Cédric Primeau (Sudbury Nickel Capital Wolves)
Josh DeJulio (Kapuskasing Flyers)
Josh Ibbitson (North Bay Trappers)

Forwards
Jacob Palmerio (Nickel City Sons)
Nathan Shane (Nickel City Sons)
Alexi Rivet (New Liskeard Cubs)
Denver Ghent (Nickel City Sons)
Rudy Giusti (Sudbury Nickel Capital Wolves)
Nathaniel McLeod (North Bay Trappers)
Cameron Etherington (Kapuskasing Flyers)
Miguel Castillo (Kapuskasing Flyers)
Sheldon Lalonde (Nickel City Sons)
Anthony Pelletier (Sudbury Nickel Capital Wolves)
Aaron Dart (North Bay Trappers)
Jackson Gunner (Sudbury Nickel Capital Wolves)

Stew Gordon will serve as the director of operations, with Joel Whissell (Nickel City) taking the reigns as head coach and Kevin Osmars (Timmins) and Jeff Forsyth (Sudbury) handling the roles of assistant coaches.

The training staff features the Timmins tandem of Ernie Sapinski and Danny Ansara. Players and staff will be assembling in North Bay on March 5 for a pair of practices before beginning tournament play March 6.