Barons shutout in Quarter-final

The Barons were Number 1 in NDA hockey and in NOSSA, but their great run ended Friday night in the OFSAA quarter-final. File photo.

The Algonquin Barons dropped a 3-0 decision to the Father Redmond Redhawks from Toronto in the quarter-finals at the OFSAA "AA" Championships taking place in Belle River near Windsor.

After going 4 and 0 in the OFSAA tourney the Barons are now getting on the bus for a long ride home to North Bay.

“We ran into a very good team,” admits disappointed head coach Dale Hewitt.

“They came out and out skated and out worked us and that’s the bottom line.”

The Barons were carrying a lot of momentum and confidence into Friday’s playoff, as they scored 10 goals in their final round robin game Friday afternoon against the St. Stephen's Royals from Bowmanville, however Hewitt doesn’t believe his team came into the playoff game overconfident.

“They scored an early power play goal and we never recovered,” said Hewitt.

”They brought their ‘A’ game and we didn’t.”

For many of the Barons, who won the NDA and NOSSA championships, it’s the end of a memorable year, and sadly the end of the hockey road for many of the graduating players.

“We had a heck of a year and we accomplished more than we hoped,” said Hewitt.

Hewitt admits the goal was to at least reach the quarter-finals and his club did that. He also believes the quality of the NDA hockey league rubbed off on the Barons and many of the OFSAA teams have taken notice of North Bay’s strong high school hockey circuit.

“We showed that North Bay produces quality high school hockey teams and hard working teams and that goes for all the schools in our league.”