Minor Bantam Sons take two wins on weekend

The early signs from the Northern Ontario AAA Hockey League are encouraging.

The loop, which has seen more than its fair share of lopsided scores these past few years, emerged from the Bantam Showcase weekend in Sault Ste. Marie with no team able to run the table with nothing but victories on their slate.

The Nickel City Minor Bantam Sons came closest, picking up two wins and a tie in three games. New head coach Brian McGillis guided his team to a 3-3 draw with the North Bay Trappers in their opener, with Eric Bourrassa scoring the game-tying goal for the Sons with less than three minutes to play.

Joe Mazur and Mathieu Lamothe also scored for Nickel City, while Ryan Mills, with a pair, and Ian Denomme countered for the Trappers.

The Sons handled the Sudbury Minor Bantam AAA Wolves with relative ease Saturday morning, as Landon Thomson, Bryce Brunet, Jarod Hurley and Adam Bertrand joined Mazur on the scoresheet, more than enough to offset a single tally from Sudbury's Jordan Pincivero.

Finally, the Minor Bantam Sons would take a 1-0 lead into the third period of their final Showcase game, breaking through in the third period and registering a 5-2 win over the Soo Greyhounds.

The team's offensive balance continued to be on display as Noah Lagrandeur and Draper MacLean netted their first goals of the second, with Belanger taking over the team scoring lead with a pair, giving him three on the season.

Thomson had given his team the 1-0 lead, picking up a short-handed tally in the first, an advantage that held until the dams burst in the third. The Sudbury Minor Bantams will need to find a way to win lower scoring games, it would appear, after completing a winless weekend with shutout losses to both Sault Ste. Marie (4-0) and North Bay (9-0).

The group is even more bunched at the Major Bantam level, with no team completing their first go-around of round-robin play either winless or unbeaten. With a record of 2-1-1, Nickel City trails North Bay by a single point, while holding that same slight edge over their crosstown rivals from Sudbury in the early league standings.

The Sons rebounded from a 6-1 thumping at the hands of the Trappers — Brian O'Connor would score the only goal for Nickel City — playing the Wolves to a 1-1 draw before besting both Timmins (3-2) and Sault Ste. Marie (7-1).

Joseph Cassio (Sudbury) and Parker Savard (Nickel City) traded goals on Friday evening, with Cameron Lamour (Wolves) and Conner Sauvé (Sons) stellar between the pipes for their respective teams.

Savard would also score the game-winning goal against the Eagles, giving his team a 3-1 second period lead after both Damien Giroux and Ryan Fournier found the back of the net for coach John Sauvé and company.

Giroux led the onslaught against the Hounds, chalking up two goals and a pair of assists, with Christian Gaudreau also enjoying a two-goal performance for the winners.

Jordan Spadafore, Tommy Vlahos and Mathieu Seguin capped off the attack for the Sons.

With coach Barry McCrory back at the helm, the Sudbury Major Bantam AAA Wolves kicked off their weekend set with a 4-1 win over Sault Ste. Marie, as Billy Moskal showed the way with a pair of markers.

Julien Tubin and Tyler Maki netted one goal each, with Sudbury remaining undefeated through their second encounter following the 1-1 tie with the Sons. A 2-0 loss to North Bay on Saturday morning gave way to a second 1-1 stalemate for the Wolves, this time with Timmins providing the opposition.

Defenceman Joel Mongeon connected on the power play at 1:52 of the third period, offsetting a first-period goal by Foster Barrette as the Sudbury crew posted a record of 1-1-2 to start off their season.