Bulldogs punch ticket to SOSSA
The Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs feel they have some unfinished business to attend to.
The Bulldogs defeated the Governor Simcoe Redcoats 7-2 to capture the Niagara Regional High School Athletic Association Zone 4 boys AA hockey championship Friday and are already looking ahead to their next challenge.
The Bulldogs take on the Saint Paul Patriots Tuesday looking to defend their SOSSA (Southern Ontario Secondary Schools Association) championship with the winner advancing to the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA) championships in Sudbury.
“We got a taste of OFSAA last year, so we had high expectations,” Sir Winston head coach David Kamatovic said. “We’re always building towards the zone finals and beyond.”
Bulldogs forward James Lindsay whooped it up on the ice with his teammates before turning his attention forward.
“It’s a great group,” the 17-year-old, Grade 12 student said. “We went to OFSAA last year after winning SOSSA, that’s the goal. We didn’t fulfill our expectations at OFSAA but it’s a great group. I’ve known these boys my whole life so it’s awesome to win with them.”
Lindsay said the Bulldogs aren’t looking past Saint Paul, but are eager to atone for their showing last year and bring home a medal.
“That would be awesome,” said Lindsay, who plays for the Niagara North Stars U18 AAA squad. “It’s a group of special guys. Everyone wants to be here, everyone wants to play, so I think we’ve got a shot.
“It’s always in our minds. We’re always thinking it has got to be better than last year because we spent so much time and didn’t do what we wanted to do. So now this year is like the revenge tour. We’ve got to go back and go get it.”
Kamatovic said OFSAA was an eye-opening experience.
“There’s a lot of good teams, yeah,” he said. “It’s extremely difficult to medal. I thought we were competitive last year and we’re going to build from that.
“I think having that experience is going to — if we get by the next hurdle — it’s going to help us a lot.”
The Bulldogs took on the Pats earlier in the year in a local tournament.
“I think they were down guys, we were down guys, so it wasn’t true test,” Kamatovic said. “This will be a battle.”
Simcoe coach Chris Bolle knew his charges would in tough against the Bulldogs.
“We said that in the dressing room before the game, that’s a strong team,” he said. “So we tried to just keep it tight, give 100 per cent effort, and kept following the game.”
Bulle is hopeful his young squad can learn from the experience.
“We have a lot of juniors on our team this year and it’s tough when you’re playing in a varsity league and you have one Grade 12 on your roster. It’s a tough go. We experienced some growing pains, but I would say that we’re looking good for next year.”
STATS PACK
Bulldogs 7 Redcoats 2
Cat’s Caboose Player of the Game: Sir Winston’s James Lindsay.
Sir Winston Churchill: Alex Beel 2; Jacob Greene, Josh Savoie, Ray Lindsay, James Lindsay, Connor Shields.
Governor Simcoe Redcoats: Ari Steenhuis, Colton Pringle.
Up next: The Bulldogs take on the Saint Paul Patriots Tuesday at 11 a.m. at the Seymour-Hannah Sports Complex in the SOSSA final. The winner advances to OFSAA.
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