The Orillia Minor Hockey Terriers Fall Classic has overcome major hurdles in order for the puck to drop this weekend.
On Tuesday, the City of Orillia announced it would be removing the ice from the two-pad arena at Rotary Place after a strain of Legionella was found in a cooling tower at the municipally owned facility.
Organizers Mike Borrelli and Jennifer McLean had to work around the clock to rework the schedule for the popular tournament sponsored by Jim Wilson Chevrolet Buick GMC.
“We didn’t know if hotels would give teams back their money,” Borrelli said. “We really had to make it go or else it wouldn’t look good for future tournaments.”
The tournament, in its 28th year, is a “criss-cross” central Ontario tournament in which 35 teams from places as far as Ottawa, New Liskeard, London and Windsor compete to be crowned champions in various divisions Sunday afternoon.
“We have teams who have been playing in this tournament for six years now,” Borrelli said. “They like how it’s run, they like how people treat them in Orillia, and the accommodations are good here.”
While the tournament was saved by moving games to Brian Orser Arena, the Coldwater Community Centre and the Mnjikaning Arena Sports Ki, Borrelli says not having Rotary Place as the main venue has had an effect.
“We had eight vendors who would be in the hallway at Rotary,” he said. “The traffic isn’t here, but we are really just thankful that Coldwater and Rama First Nation came to our aid to give us ice time.”
While the tournament lacks some of its charm from previous years, Borrelli says the feedback he’s received from visiting teams has been positive.
“It’s a great place to come play. People love Orillia,” he said.
The tournament is still a financial boon for the city, with Borrelli estimating it brings more than $500,000 into the local economy.
“For a weekend, that’s pretty good money,” he said.
He says some of the best players in the province from ages 10 to 18 will be skating in Orillia this weekend.
“Out of the six divisions, Orillia has four or five teams that have a good chance to win,” he said. “Some of the best teams from across Ontario are here.”
The championship finals take place Sunday at Brian Orser Arena and the Mnjikaning Arena Sports Ki starting at 2:30 p.m. The full schedule can be found here.
