Reds blank Mustangs for AAA crown
Joey Kamendy went out on top.
The 17-year-old, Grade 12 student turned in a standout performance between the pipes to earn the shutout as the Denis Morris Reds blanked the Saint Michael Mustangs 3-0 in the Niagara Catholic Athletic Association AAA boys hockey final Tuesday at the Seymour-Hannah Sports Complex.
When the final buzzer sounded, Kamendy whooped it up with his teammates and then posed for pictures on the ice before taking a quick moment to reflect on his final high school game.
“I think it’s awesome,” he said. “It was a really, really good game. St. Mike’s is an awesome team and to win it in my final year —I know it’s not SOSSA or OFSAA — but just to win something feels awesome.”
The championship was the end of the high school hockey season with both the Southern Ontario Secondary Schools Association and the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations championships cancelled due to the COVID pandemic.
Kamendy wasn’t even sure he would get a chance to play for a title after a three-week lockdown in January put the season in jeopardy.
“It’s not fun,” he said. “It’s tough to get back into it and then you’re all excited for the season and then it gets shutdown.”
Denis Morris coach Billy McLaren tipped his cap to his veteran goaltender.
“Joey stole the show today,” McLaren said. “How many breakaways did he bail us out of? Seven or eight?
“He was great.”
Kamendy, who said he didn’t want to think about the shutout for fear he would jinx himself, has played AAA in the past for the Niagara North Stars, but took this year off.
He isn’t sure if Tuesday’s win will be his final game of competitive hockey.
“Maybe, maybe (I’ll play) junior B,” he said. “We’ll see.”
The Reds were scheduled to host both SOSSA and OFSAA this year.
“Everybody bought in,” McLaren said. “Everybody just wanted to play hockey this year, which was great to see.
“Everybody knows what COVID was like so getting guys on the ice was awesome.”
McLaren kept a larger than usual roster due to concerns about COVID and injuries with the on-again, off-again schedule.
“Instead of keeping 23 or 24 guys, we kept 30 guys this year knowing the situation,” he said. “We have five or six Niagara North kids, two or three SCTA (South Central AAA) kids, and my Thorold and Merritton kids, I love them to death because they are so committed.”
Easton Lynds, Brian Loney and Jaden Dolce scored for the Reds.
Earlier Tuesday, the Reds topped the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 4-1 to advance to the final.
Lynds had two goals while Loney, Andy McCaferty and Luca Radovanovic scored.
Victor Lalande scored a short-handed goal for the Irish.
“Notre Dame, they are a feisty team too,” McLaren said. “They played well. We scored a couple in the third to break it open.”
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