By SDSSAA Puck
The grand conclusion to the 2024-2025 high school hockey season in Ontario has come and gone, and what a tournament it has been in the nickel capital. The championships saw some high-level talent come to Sudbury, amazing the locals with extremely high-quality hockey played between elite teams with almost every game being close. And vice versa, the teams that came to our northern town got a taste of not only our city but our hockey as well.
To say the teams representing our city showed up to play against the province’s best would be a massive understatement. Going up against teams who recruit players who actively play rep hockey—oftentimes AAA at that—not only did all of them manage to win a game, but they all advanced to at least the final eight. Each of them put their schools, their city, and their region on the map with their stunning performances throughout the tournament.
Girls – St. Charles Cardinals
Although not the most successful, the run that the Lady Cards was by far the most surprising of the bunch. Having been seeded 15th and only finishing third in SDSSAA, there were certain concerns regarding how they would fare against the OFSAA competition. However, they silenced all their critics with a statement 3-1 win over the 4th-seeded Georgian Bay Bears. After a tight 1-0 loss to the Henry Street Hawks in the next game, they managed to steal another 3-1 victory against the St. Mary Thunder with a 22-save performance from goaltender Keanna Navarro to boom their spot in the quarter-finals. Unfortunately, the magic came to a stop against the Simcoe Sabres when they lost 8-4.
Leading them on their magical run was U18 AA Lady Wolves product Avery Mininni, who finished the tournament with 3 goals and 6 points in 4 games. She was aided by 5 assists from freshman Kahlan Judd, 2 goals from sophomore Joely Angus, and a 1.00 GAA from Navarro.
Girls – Lo-Ellen Park Knights
The more favorited team to come out of the city on the girls’ side was by far Lo-Ellen, and they also produced an exciting run. Beginning their campaign against the Holy Trinity Titans, the Knights came out on top with a score of 4-3 powered by a hat trick from freshman Sadie Frantz. Their next opponent, the 2nd-seeded Holy Cross Raiders, would be their biggest test as their roster included the University of Connecticut committed twins Caleigh and Chelsea Tiller. Although they lost, they managed to contain their offense and only lost by a score of 2-1. Their final game against the Lambton Lancers would determine if they would advance, and a spectacular shutout performance from netminder Daniela Grottoli, complemented by another goal from Frantz, gave the Knights a 1-0 victory to play in the quarters.
Unfortunately, the Knights’ run would end in heartbreaking fashion against eventual silver medalists St. Mark Lions. Leading 2-1 with 32 seconds left to play, the Lions tied it up to send it to overtime. After 10 extra minutes, the game had to be decided in a shootout. All five Knights players failed to score while Team Canada player Alex Therien netted the only goal for the Lions to advance to the medal round and end Lo-Ellen’s season.
“Although it was disappointing to lose like that, I think everyone on our team is extremely proud of what we accomplished,” said Ella Lumme, a grade 11 defenceman on the Knights. “It was a very talented group of girls and it felt amazing to represent our school at the OFSAA level and show everyone what we were capable of.”
Frantz and fellow freshman Sophie Gauld led the team in scoring with 5 points each in the 4 games. Grottoli and Leila Barsanti were an almost unbeatable tandem for the Knights in net, letting up just 8 goals total.
Boys – St. Charles Cardinals
Out of all the teams in the whole tournament, the Cards boys team was undoubtedly the main event for almost all of the local spectators. And to say they did not disappoint at home this year would not be doing their performance justice. With their whole hometown resting firmly on their back, they delivered in a big way.
Like many of their games this season, their first of the tournament was another memorable one. Going up against the 11th-seeded St. James Lions, they trailed 2-0 with just over three minutes to go. Then, in the blink of an eye, tallies from Karson Gouchie, Carter Danyluk, and Keynan Kydd in a span of 2:15 led the Cards to an extremely improbable victory and a statement win in their first game. After another exciting game against the Saint Paul Patriots which ended in a 2-2 tie, they had to face the 2nd-seeded Essex Red Raiders for a chance at a spot in the quarter-finals. The Cards dominated the game, winning 5-1 and outshooting them 29-16 to book their place in the last eight.
They began their playoffs with another dominating display against the Patrick Fogarty Flames, handling them 5-2 to become the only team from the city to play in the medal round and give them real hope of playing in the gold medal game. However, awaiting them in the semi-finals was the St. Joseph’s Jaguars, a team spearheaded by OHL top draft prospect Kaden McGregor, who had scored 16 goals in the 4 games he played up to that point. The Cards managed to keep the score low and entered the third period tied 1-1, but McGregor responded with a 4-goal third period to take the game 5-2 and end the Cards’ shot at a dream gold medal. However, they still had a shot at the consolation prize: the bronze medal. If the Cards could even do so much as a medal on home ice, they would be doing Sudbury and its high school hockey scene proud.
Awaiting them in the game would be their biggest test of the season: the 1st-seeded St. Theresa Titans, a team composed mostly of players actively playing AAA. And when faced against possibly the best team the province has to offer, the Cards went full speed ahead. Jackson Noble opened the scoring in the first, and senior defenceman Daniel Crossthwaithe provided an insurance marker a period later. Netminder Rowan McCann stopped all 19 shots he faced as, in their last game of the season with a medal on the line, the Cards shut out a team that had been undefeated before OFSAA. Their reward was their first medal at OFSAA since 1996, cementing themselves into the city history books for years to come as one of the greatest teams in both program and high school hockey history. Kydd led the team in scoring with 4 goals and 6 points in the 6 games, with almost all of his teammates chipping in.
As for the gold medal game, McGregor and the Jaguars would fall to the Sacred Heart Crusaders from Walkerton by a score of 5-2. Multi-goal performances from Tim Ireland and Carsyn Jeffray, along with a stellar outing from netminder Myles Scott, gave the school their second OFSAA hockey title. In addition, the St. Michael Warriors from Stratford defeated St. Mark 5-0 in the girls’ gold medal game, while Holy Cross beat Simcoe for the bronze.