The Environmental 360 Solutions U16 Red Devils took part in the OMHA Showcase Crossover Event on the weekend, routing Northern Ontario Team White 5-0 Friday before getting trimmed 5-4 by the Halton Hurricanes the following evening.
The Showcase involved 22 U16 teams from the OMHA East and West divisions plus the NOHA with each team playing twice at the Rickard Rec Complex in Bowmanville. The event ran from Friday through Sunday.
The West group’s second-place Hurricanes entered Saturday’s contest against Quinte with the OMHA’s second-best record at 10-and-2 while the 5-2-2-and-1 Red Devils came in sitting three points out of first place in the East. On paper, Halton was slightly favoured but it was the Devils who jumped into the driver’s seat early, holding period leads of 1-0 and 3-2 before the Hurricanes stormed back to outscore Quinte 3-1 in the third.
Nate Rashotte broke the ice late in the first period with an unassisted tally then Ryan Foley’s unassisted goal on a breakaway, while Quinte was shorthanded, gave the Devils a 2-0 lead under a minute into the second. After Nick Colson’s goal put them ahead 3-1 in the middle set, Cole Rowat scored with 1:51 remaining in the third to knot it 4-4, just 34 seconds before Halton retook the lead to steal the win. Chase Cybulskie, Ty Leavitt and Colson had assists for Quinte while Ayden Mullen saw duty between the posts.
On Friday against NOHA Team White Lily Reid played an excellent game in goal, turning back everything thrown her way as she backstopped Quinte to the 5-0 victory. The Red Devils dominated from the get-go, turning a 1-0 first-period lead into a commanding 4-0 advantage with three more goals in the second set before adding one more in the third.
Rashotte got things rolling once more, scoring unassisted midway through the opening period with his goal holding up as the eventual winner. The Devils made it 3-0 early in the second when Blake Munnings and Rashotte netted short-handed, unassisted markers just over a minute apart ahead of Cole Coughlan’s goal later in the period. Wyatt Whalen assisted on the Coughlan goal while Jake Gawley and Ryan Foley picked up assists when Rowat notched one in the third period.
ON DECK...three regular season games are on tap this week with the Red Devils hosting Central Ontario at the FDC Wednesday night at 8:15 prior to taking on York-Simcoe at 5:30 Saturday on the CAA pad. They finish up the week in Orillia against North Central on Sunday afternoon.