This past weekend the
Orillia Jim Wilson Bantams Kings dropped a close one in the semi-finals and
narrowly missed a birth in the finals of the Boyd Balkwill Memorial tournament.
In their first game the boys faced a physical team from Sudbury and dominated the play for the majority of the game. The final score ended up being 12 - 3. Leading the team on the scoreboard was Noah Quarington with four goals and one assist. Carson Bussieres and Liam McCrimmon each picked up three goals. Gabe Neely picked up a goal and two assists while Ashton Twyman had the other marker. Camden Matthews took the victory between the pipes.
Saturday morning the team played a squad from Nepean that suffered a similar fate. The Kings defeated them 10 - 1. Quarrington and Ben Trumble each notched a pair of goals. McCrimmon picked up one goal and three assists. Jesse Ashkewe, Twyman, Jack Sonnenberg and Neely each picked up singles. Trent Tibbett and Alex Rodger each had assists in the win. Goaltender Harry Leeman was solid in net and picked up a pair of assists as well.
Saturday afternoon the Kings faced the West Durham Hitmen and found themselves in a much tougher battle. West Durham got out to an early lead in the first and managed to hold unto it until the end of the second period when Jack Marwick tied it up on a pass from Busseires. The Kings took the lead shortly after when Tibbett fired one in the net on a pass from Ashkewe and McCrimmon. West Durham tied it at the nine minute mark of the third and followed that with another quick goal. Although Orillia had many opportunities to score in the last few minutes of the game the Hitmen goalie proved to be equal to the task. Orillia was defeated 3 -2 and their first loss of the tournament left them in second place in round robin action. Although he played a strong game, Camden Matthews took the loss in net.
In semi-final action Sunday morning the Kings met the Gloucester Griffins. In a hard fought battle the Kings lost another close game by a score of 4 -3. Despite some solid goaltending from Leeman the Griffins got out to an early two goal lead and held onto it until the end of the second period when Neely potted the Kings first tally on a pass from Twyman and Trumble. Gloucester then score two more times, giving them a comfortable lead. In the last two minutes of the game Orillia managed to score two quick goals giving them a chance to even the score. Marwick scored on a pass from Neely and Trumble. Aiden Colebrook scored an unassisted marker to draw the Kings within one. An exciting last minute of the game with Leeman out of the net the game ended with the Griffins up by one and the Kings left to watch the finals from the stands.