By SDSSAA Puck
For the past week, high school students across the city and province have been enjoying the annual March break. Whether it be basking in the sun on Barbados or spending time with friends, it’s a chance to temporarily forget school responsibilities. However, for the hockey players at St. Charles College and Lo-Ellen Park, along with many other teams across the province, one thing has remained on their minds: the OFSAA A/AA Hockey Championship taking place this coming week. And for the teams from Sudbury, this tournament carries even more significance.
For the first time since 2000 for the boys and 2014 for the girls, the nickel city will host the best high school hockey teams in Ontario. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the three hometown squads—St. Charles Cardinals (boys), St. Charles Cardinals (girls), and the Lo-Ellen Park Knights (girls)—to compete against the province’s finest on rinks they know all too well. The question remains: Will they be contenders, or are they just here for the ride?
Final Seeding for OFSAA 2025
Boys
- St. Theresa Titans (Belleville) — COSSA
- Essex Red Raiders (Essex) — SWOSSAA
- Holy Trinity Titans (Courtice) — LOSSA
- Parkside Stampeders (St. Thomas) — WOSSAA
- St. Joseph’s Jaguars (Renfrew) — EOSSAA
- Belle River Nobles (Belle River) — SWOSSAA
- Korah Colts (Sault Ste. Marie) — NOSSA
- St. Charles Cardinals (Sudbury) — Host, NOSSA
- Sacred Heart Crusaders (Walkerton) — CWOSSA
- Fort Frances Muskies (Fort Frances) — NWOSSAA
- St. James Lions (Guelph) — CWOSSA
- St. Mary Crusaders (Hamilton) — GHAC
- Saint Paul Patriots (Niagara Falls) — SOSSA
- Patrick Fogarty Flames (Orillia) — GBSSA
- Hearst Nordiks (Hearst) — NEOAA
- East Northumberland Blue Dragons (Brighton) — COSSA
Girls
- Holy Cross Hurricanes (Peterborough) — COSSA
- Holy Cross Raiders (St. Catharines) — SOSSA
- Napanee Golden Hawks (Napanee) — EOSSAA
- Georgian Bay Bears (Midland) — GBSSA
- St. Michael Warriors (Stratford) — WOSSAA
- Henry Street Hawks (Whitby) — LOSSA
- St. Mark Lions (Manotick) — NCSSAA
- Holy Trinity Titans (Simcoe) — CWOSSA
- St. Mary Thunder (Cobourg) — COSSA
- Fort Frances Muskies (Fort Frances) — NWOSSAA
- Lo-Ellen Park Knights (Sudbury) — NOSSA
- Theriault Flammes (Timmins) — NEOAA
- Lambton Lancers (Petrolia) — SWOSSAA
- Burlington Blues (Burlington) — GHAC
- St. Charles Cardinals — Host, NOSSA
- Simcoe Sabres (Simcoe) — CWOSSA
Boys – St. Charles Cardinals
The lone local representative on the boys’ side is the host team, the St. Charles Cardinals. Make no mistake, they’re not here simply because they’re hosting. Throughout the season—counting both regular play and tournaments—the Cardinals compiled a remarkable 40-4-1 record, clinched the SDSSAA city championship, and even reached as high as second in provincial rankings at one point. However, two losses at NOSSA to the Korah Colts (their northern rivals from the Sault) sent them into OFSAA with some lingering questions and ultimately placed them as the 8th seed.
In pool play, St. Charles faces the St. James Lions (11), Saint Paul Patriots (13), and the 2nd-seeded Essex Red Raiders—the latter posing the biggest challenge. The Red Raiders sit at 13-2-1, matching their seeding with strong credentials. If the Cardinals can surpass Essex and top their pool, they’ll ride a wave of momentum into the quarterfinals, where they might meet the winner of Pool A. That bracket features the top-seeded St. Theresa Titans and the familiar Korah Colts, among others. Should the Cardinals make it out of the quarters, they could well be favored to claim a historic title on home ice.
Girls – St. Charles Cardinals
For the girls’ side, it’s a tale of two different team trajectories for St. Charles and Lo-Ellen Park.
The St. Charles Cardinals girls team has been a force in SDSSAA league play for years, but they lost a host of key seniors from last year’s roster. After finishing third in the first division with a 6-5-1 record, they were ousted by the Horizon Aigles in a three-game semifinal series. Despite that, they earned the 15th seed at OFSAA.
They’re not without talent, boasting Sudbury Lady Wolves players Avery Minnini, Karlie Shea, Joely Angus, Ryann Chevrier, and standout goalie Keanna Navarro. One of their regular-season wins came against the formidable Lo-Ellen Park Knights, proving they can pull off an upset on any given day. The Cardinals land in a challenging pool with the 4th-seeded Georgian Bay Bears, 6th-seeded Henry Street Hawks, and 9th-seeded St. Mary Thunder. They’ll need a near-flawless run to advance, but as hockey has often shown, miracles can happen at OFSAA.
Girls – Lo-Ellen Park Knights
On the flip side is the Lo-Ellen Park Knights. After a few seasons in the middle of the pack, they experienced a significant leap this year. Fueled by new additions from the Sudbury Lady Wolves U15 AA, the Knights posted a 9-1-2 record and then defeated both the Bishop Carter Gators and Horizon to book a trip to NOSSA. Lo-Ellen went undefeated in pool play there but fell to the St. Joseph-Scollard Hall Bears in the final. That performance earned them the 11th seed at OFSAA.
Lo-Ellen’s draw includes the 2nd-seeded Holy Cross Raiders, the 8th-seeded Holy Trinity Titans, and the 13th-seeded Lambton Lancers. Should the Knights emerge from pool play, they’ll likely face teams from Pool A, headlined by the top-seeded Holy Cross Hurricanes. No easy task, but given their domination within SDSSAA and a strong run at NOSSA, Lo-Ellen is confident they can hold their own.
Conclusion
In OFSAA, any seed can pull off an upset, and the Sudbury squads hope to make the most of hosting duties. The St. Charles boys are chasing a second OFSAA title in program history (their first came in 1991), while the Lo-Ellen Park and St. Charles girls aim to join the Collége Notre-Dame Alouettes (2008) in bringing a banner back north. With the province’s top teams descending on Sudbury, it’s anyone’s guess who will rise to the occasion.
For those eager to follow the action, scores and standings will be available at
https://gamesheetinc.com/stats and
https://www.ofsaa.on.ca/championship/hockey/.
Two dedicated YouTube channels (“OFSAA Live Stream 1” and “OFSAA SUDBURY Live Stream #2”) will broadcast select games. Puck drops at 8:00 AM on Tuesday, March 18—get ready for a thrilling showcase of high school hockey at its finest.