Thunder prevail in Gloucester

The North Bay Toyota Thunder Minor Bantam "AA" hockey team struck gold this past weekend winning 5 straight games to claim the title at the Gloucester Winterlude Tournament.

In their first game the Thunder defeated Seaway Valley Rapids 2-0 with goals from Darren Palmer and Derek Dinezza. Ricky Guay registered the shutout.

In game 2 the locals met the Cumberland Barons and came out on top 4-2. Brad Cauchy (2) , Dylan Staples and Mike Mason scored for the Thunder.

Their next match-up was against the #1 ranked team in the province (www.myhockeyrankings.com) - the Gloucester Rangers. Tait Seguin scored early in the first period and the Thunder held on for a 1-0 victory.Ricky Guay was outstanding in goal and registered the shutout.

In the semi-finals the Thunder were down 2-0 early in the first period but came back to win 4-3 against the Upper Ottawa Valley Aces. Mike Mason, Darren Palmer, Gabriel Rancourt and Zach Deschenes provided the scoring for the Thunder.

In the final the Thunder were again matched up with the Gloucester Rangers. Captain Dylan Staples opened the scoring early in the first period and the team never looked back skating to a 5-0 victory. Ricky Guay recorded his 3rd shut-out of the tournament. The high-light of the game came when the locals were two men short late in the game and Josh Storie created a break away scoring top shelf. Other goal scorers were Tait Seguin, Garrett Hatherley, and Gabriel Rancourt.

The coaching staff was once again thrilled by the performance of the minor Bantams who have already been ranked in the top 5 in the province.

"This was a total team effort and they deserved the win,"
said Thunder coach Mike Dinezza.

"The boys were really looking forward to this tournament and a re-match with Gloucester who defeated them in the finals of the Silver Stick earlier this season. To shut them out twice and win the tournament is an outstanding achievement for these boys."

Team members include: Brad Cauchy, Zach Deschenes, Derek
Dinezza, Ricky Guay, Garrett Hatherley, Dustin Hummel, Nick Macmillan, Ray Major, Mike Mason, Darren Palmer, Gabriel Rancourt, Addison Robidas, Tait Seguin, Dylan Staples, Josh Storie and Ryley Valade.