Patriots hold off Bulldogs for SOSSA crown; Wolfpack makes AAA final
The Saint Paul Patriots captured their first SOSSA title Tuesday in 11 years in dramatic fashion.
The Patriots edged the Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs 5-4 in the Southern Ontario Secondary Schools Association AA boys hockey championship final, but certainly didn’t do it the easy way.
The Pats raced out to a 5-0 lead after two periods, then hung on for dear life in the third as the defending champion Bulldogs rallied with four goals in an attempt to keep their season alive.
“It means everything, man,” Saint Paul goaltender Sam Teutenberg said on the ice, while his teammates celebrated around him. “We haven’t won a zone (title) in I think 11 years. To come and build this team and win a championship, that’s awesome.”
The Patriots, who upset the Denis Morris Reds in the Zone 2 final last week, now advance to the Ontario Federation of Secondary School Associations (OFSAA) championships March 18-20 in Sudbury.
Saint Paul coach Matt McCormack was thrilled for his team.
“I’m so proud. These guys have put in such hard work this season. It’s only fitting that we came here and we are going to OFSAA.”
Teutenberg, a Grade 9 student who plays for the Southern Tier Admirals U15 AAA squad, admitted it was a tense final 15 minutes as the Bulldogs pulled out all the stops.
“That was scary,” he said. “They have some really good players and made some really good chances, but our defence held down the fort for me and I’m thankful for that.”
Teutenberg answered the call at the start of the season when the Pats were looking for a goaltender.
“The team wanted me to come out so I came out and played and I’ll never regret it,” he said.
McCormack said Teutenberg has been a key for the Pats this season.
“He’s incredible, he’ s so calm,” McCormack said. “He’s just always there to give us that save when we need it and without him we don’t make this run.”
Saint Paul scored three times in the first period and then added two more in the second, including a goal by Isaiah Paul on a penalty shot.
That seemed to put the game on ice but the Bulldogs had other ideas, rattling off four goals in just under 10 minutes.
“Man, I was so nervous,” McCormack said. “What a comeback by Sir Winston. They made it interesting. They battled hard in the third and like I said before whether you have a lead in hockey it’s not over until it’s over and we were able to hold on and get the victory.”
McCormack called a time out early in the third in an attempt to settle down his charges.
“I basically told the team to just relax and get back to playing physical and not sit back,” he said. “Sometimes when you get leads you tend to sit back. I said to pretend it’s 0-0 and let’s push forward and try and get the win.”
Both teams were missing key pieces who also play for the Niagara North Stars U18 AAA squad and were unavailable with a playoff game later in the day. The Bulldogs were clearly affected more, losing seven players while the Pats were unable to dress two.
“I’m super proud of the resiliency, the never-quit attitude,” Sir Winston coach David Kamatovic said. “We just told the guys it’s an opportunity for guys to step up. We’re down some of our big players, it’s an opportunity to step up and play for your team.”
Kamatovic said he felt the momentum switch when the Bulldogs finally got on the board early in the third.
“We killed a big penalty and you could see the guys saying we get one, we can chip away at the lead and get the momentum shifting,” he said.
The Bulldogs appear in good shape going forward, losing only three seniors.
“We’re optimistic for next year,” he said.
The Patriots have high hopes for OFSAA.
“We want to go there and we want to win,” McCormack said. “That’s the main goal.”
Luke Berezowski added three goals for the Patriots while Hudson Rufrano also scored.
Jack McNeil, Jacob Greene, Ray Lindsay and Simon Marshall replied for the Bulldogs.
WOLFACK FALLS IN SOSSA AAA FINAL
The West Niagara Wolfpack boys hockey team made it to the finals of the SOSSA AAA tournament in Hamilton Tuesday before falling 6-4 to Waterdown.
“We were down 1-0 and our team played its heart out in both games,” West Niagara coach Alex Carey said. “We have a young team and we are looking forward to building on this year.”
Kason Edwards, Declan Arnold, Josh Bertrand and Nick Bolibruck scored for West Niagara in the final.
Bertand scored twice as West Niagara doubled the Saint Michael Mustangs 2-1 in the semifinals.
Keegan Masterson scored for the Mustangs.
“Owen Anderson played net in both games and played really well,” Carey said.
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