ESP U16 squad wins Ontario title

The Essex-Southpoint (ESP) U16 hockey club competed in the Ontario Minor Hockey Association’s Championship Weekend in Whitby over the Easter break, bringing home the Gold medal and Red Hat as tournament champions.

Fighting through the grueling Bluewater League regular season, ESP finished fourth in the overall standings and first in the A division playoffs.

After closing out the six-point series against rival Riverside Rangers, the stage was set for a return to the OMHA tournament and a chance to surpass their quarter-final finish last year.

The two-game round robin play began Friday afternoon. Essex-Southpoint took on the Woolwich Wildcats in an exciting back and forth game. Woolwich opened the scoring late in the final seconds of the first period.

Trailing 1-0, ESP stepped up their presence in the opposing zone, rallying for three unanswered goals in the second period, winning the opening game with a strong 3-1 showing.

Friday night’s game was against the Peterborough Petes Team One. The opponent once again grabbed a 1-0 lead a few minutes into the first period, but that would be it for the game. An Essex-Southpoint goal in the final few minutes of the first period was followed by a second goal late in the second. To seal the deal, ESP, on the penalty kill, sailed the puck down the ice for an empty-net, short-handed goal with less than two minutes left to play. The 3-1 win put them in top spot in their division, giving them a bye to the Saturday afternoon quarter-finals.

The quarter-final opponent was a strong Quinte West Golden Hawks team, ranked fourth in Ontario. The game was a struggle as ESP focused on trying to limit the Golden Hawks opportunities throughout the three periods. The end of regulation result was a 0-0 tie, but excitement was building as Essex-Southpoint’s offense started to click.

A disallowed ESP goal provided incentive to keep pushing, resulting in a scramble in front of the Quinte West net midway through the overtime, ending in an exciting 1-0 sudden death win for Essex-Southpoint.

In the Sunday morning semi-final match-up against the Milton Winterhawks, ESP jumped out to a two-goal lead in the first period. Milton answered with one in the second. Essex-Southpoint added to their lead in the third and closed out the game with an empty net goal, resulting in a 4-1 win to move on to the finals.

As the number two ranked Norfolk Knights and Essex-Southpoint team lined up for the opening faceoff in the final, the arena rumbled with banging sticks and cheering voices. ESP rode a wave of adrenaline and heart, setting out their best performance of the year for this final game.

The first goal came with 55 seconds left in the first period, followed up 47 seconds later by a second goal for a 2-0 first period lead.

The second period saw the two teams trade goals. ESP scored their third goal, Norfolk their first, then ESP their fourth.

In the third, ESP continued to control much of the play on the ice, scoring one last goal and winning 5-1.

As the final buzzer sounded, the celebration began. Lots of hard work by both players and coaches resulted in an Ontario championship.

The ESP U16 team emerged champions at the Ontario Minor Hockey Associations Championship Weekend in Whitby. Team members are, front, left to right: Dom DeZorzi, Tyler Franklin, Colton Selwood, Parker Deshaies, Kadyn Ellis, Nash Driedger, Riley Zanier, Jesse Werstein. Second row: Will Wuerch, Justin Toth, Parker Wuerch, Nick Mastromatteo, Chase Simpson, Ethan Brockman, Jacques Petro, Christian Wuerch, Matt Gillis. In back: Luke Market, Tyler Vriesema, Ethan Dibbley, Dayne DiMilo.