After going 3-1 in round robin play over the weekend, the North Bay & District U12 AAA Trappers went on to play their league rivals, the Soo Jr. Greyhounds, in the finals of the Northern Ontario Hockey League.
After a scoreless first period, the Jr. Greyhounds took a 2-0 lead on power play goals by Ryder Demidovich and Blake Kennedy. Midway through the third period, the Trappers cut the lead in half on a power play goal by Jordan Adekoya. With just over 3 mins remaining in regulation, the Trappers’ Liam DeJourdan scored a short-handed goal to force the game into overtime. Just a few minutes into overtime, DeJourdan intercepted a pass in the Jr. Greyhounds’ zone and made no mistake on his shot, finding the back of the net and securing the team’s third consecutive gold medal victory in the NOHA playoffs. Graham Twigg stopped 22 of 24 shots in goal for the Trappers.
“Our team has faced plenty of adversity this season and I think this is what helped us come together as a team when it mattered most," said U12 Trappers coach Justin Carre.
"Being able to come back from a two-goal deficit in the finals of a championship game says a lot about this team’s character and determination. The coaching staff is incredibly proud of this group of kids.”
The Trappers have had a successful year since transitioning to the AAA level and have shown major growth across the season.
From September-to-December, they had a 15-18-4 record. From January-to-March they had a 19-9-1 record. The Trappers were also very competitive in tournament play.
In November they won a silver medal at Ottawa Myers Automotive AAA Shootout tournament after falling to the Mississauga Senators 4-3 in overtime.
They earned another silver medal in January after a 4-3 loss against the Chatham-Kent Cyclones in the Great Lakes Cup AAA tournament.
Members of the Trappers include: Sawyer Gedanitz, Liam DeJourdan, Hudson Demeis, Landon Forsyth, Sam Carré, Tanner Walsh, Colton Brunette, Garrett Tran, Jordan Adekoya, Zachael Bray, Rylan Ringler, Jackson Ross, Ari Anello, Graham Twigg, Mac Degagne, Campbell Stickland, and Jacob Krajci. Coaches: Justin Carré, Zach Bratina, Dylan D’Agostino, Scott Huycke. Trainer: Wade Ringler. Manager: Heather Krajci.
