Hundreds of cheering fans lined the streets of downtown Bracebridge to celebrate the U18B Middaugh Masonry Bears winning the Tier 1 Ontario Minor Hockey Association (OMHA) Championship.
The team beat the Dorchester Dragons 5 to 4 in what was called an “intense double overtime” game by Katie Peleikis, a board member with South Muskoka Minor Hockey. Parker McAdams scored the winning goal and was named the most valuable player.
Tier 1 is the fourth level of minor hockey in Ontario. It’s below triple a, double a, and single a. Sarah Geer, outgoing president of South Muskoka Minor Hockey, explains the red hat is “the thing” all minor hockey teams in Ontario want. “It represents victory,” she says.
The championship parade was the first held in Bracebridge in almost a decade. Geer says it was incredible to see so many people come out to celebrate the team. “To see people jump at the fact they want to celebrate the win they want to celebrate the kids that worked so hard to get where they are is pretty fantastic,” she says.
The Bracebridge Fire Department chauffeured the players from the fire hall on Taylor Rd. to the Bracebridge Memorial Arena. Once they arrived, the end-of-year banquet was held with players, coaches, and volunteers being honoured for their hard work during the season.
Gavin Gammon captained the U18B team and says the start of the season was tough. The team dealt with a handful of injuries that forced them to forfeit some games because they didn’t have enough players. “We didn’t lose our head,” he says. “We never gave up.”
Around Christmas, he says a lot of the injured players came back and the team went on a long winning streak that ended with their title win. “The coaches were a big part of the season,” says Gammon. Throughout it all, he explains they were always supportive and reminding them to keep their heads held high.
Gammon says seeing so many people show up for the parade was a great feeling. “It was cool to see how much hockey still means to people,” he adds.
While most eyes were on the U18B team, the U15B Cavalcade Ford Bears made the OMHA finals, too. However, Geer says they came up just short. “It’s been a journey with that team since they’ve been really little,” says Geer, whose son plays on the U15B team. “It’s been incredible to watch as they grow and gel as a really good team.”
Alex Sickinger was part of the U15B team. “Even though we didn’t win, we’re going to come back and try to win next year,” he says.
While he’s proud of getting to the finals, Sickinger adds he wants to win an OMHA title like the U18B team did this year.
Geer says the players are getting well-deserved praise, but the parents, coaches, and other volunteers deserve recognition, too. “We do this because we want to support the kids,” she says of the hundreds of volunteers that support South Muskoka Minor Hockey.
She adds that the coaches, in particular the ones with the U15B and U18B teams, have incredible visions for not just what happens on the ice, but how players can be successful off the ice, too.