OJHL Governor’s Showcase Recap

(File photo courtesy of the Buffalo Jr. Sabres)

All 22 teams in the OJHL came together in Cobourg this weekend for the 2012-2013 OJHL Governor’s Showcase. Five games on Saturday and six on Sunday packed a full weekend for the league.

Scouts from many higher-level teams and leagues were in attendance at the games, all played at the Cobourg Community Centre.

Play began at noon on Saturday with a game of Newmarket vs. Whitby. Despite taking an early lead just over two minutes in, Whitby would drop the game 5-3 after scoring just once on eight power play opportunities. Hurricanes forward Calvin Higley had two goals and an assist in the win.

North York and Milton would face-off for the second game of the day – and it would turn out to be quite a stunner, with an astounding 13 goals scored by the teams combined.

Milton assistant captain Kane Elliott scored an outstanding four goals as North York defeated Milton, 8-5. Despite the loss, Milton outshot the Rangers, 44-34.

The third game was a match-up of St. Michaels and Burlington. Teams would exchange goals to end the first period tied, but St. Michaels scored three unanswered goals to take the 4-1 lead. Burlington was able to start the comeback by scoring two shorthanded goals in the third period, but couldn’t finish it and dropped the game by a close score of 4-3.

Orangeville and Buffalo would be the next game, a 4:30 p.m. matchup. The game remained scoreless until the third period, but it was back-and-f0rth action from there. Tied at two with just over two minutes left, it looked like the game could be headed to overtime – but alas, that wasn’t the case as Tyler Gjurich tallied one for the Jr. Sabres, followed shortly after by an empty net goal by Nick Pelligra to seal the deal.

In the final Saturday game of the showcase, Stouffville faced off against the hometown Cobourg team. The hometown advantage, however, wouldn’t prove so advantageous, as Stouffville defeated the Cougars 6-4.

Six more games on Sunday would allow the rest of the league’s teams to participate in the showcase. Again, all games were played at the Cobourg Community Centre, with alternating times and rinks.

An early-morning game would see Kingston defeated Lindsay, 2-0. Voyageurs goaltender Charlie Finn was awarded the lone shutout of the showcase, with 36 saves on as many shots faced. Lindsay goaltender Tanner Davis allowed just one goal on 38 shots, with the second coming on the empty net.

Next, Aurora faced off against Wellington, with another close game. This time, however, it would require a shootout to finish things off. Craig Campbell scored twice for Wellington, while Dylan Sikura tallied two goals for Aurora. In the shootout, only Erick Delaurentis was able to put one into the net as the Dukes came out on top.

The middle game of the day was another shootout game, this time between Pickering and Trenton.  Matt Galati, recently honored by Gongshow Gear, scored twice in the loss. Similarly to the Aurora game, only one goal was scored in the shootout – this time by Trenton defenseman Brandon Scott, and the Golden Hawks won 4-3.

All three of the remaining showcase games on Sunday would prove to be regulation games, each decided by one goal. Oakville and Mississauga came first, with the Blades making an early start just 32 seconds into the game on a goal by Patrick Chore. Chore would add another goal later in the game, and Jonah Renouf would also score twice, as the Blades defeated Mississauga 4-3.

The final two games would involve both of the OJHL Toronto teams – and they would both result in losses for the Toronto teams, each by a one-goal score.

First, the Hamilton Red Wings defeated the Jr. Canadiens by a score of 3-2. Toronto started off the game well, scoring just 1:02 into the game and adding a second goal in the middle frame to take a 2-0 lead. The Red Wings, however, would charge back in the third period, adding two goals in 2:08 to tie it before Luke Laidlaw scored his second of the game at the 18:42 mark to seal the win.

Finally, Toronto Lakeshore faced off against Georgetown. The teams exchanged goals three times, leaving it tied at three with just about eight minutes remaining in regulation time. Not much later, however, Drake Hart would prove to be the hero for the Raiders, scoring at 14:57 of the third to give Georgetown the lead. The team would hold on defeat Toronto 4-3 in the final game of the showcase.