NEWS RELEASE
RIVERSIDE RENOS ORILLIA ICE DOGS
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The Riverside Renos Orillia Ice Dogs minor bantam team (made up of 2005 aged players) played in their third tourney of the spring/summer season this past Civic Holiday weekend in Toronto at the King of the Rings Tournament at York University.
The Ice Dogs finished first in the preliminary rounds in each of the three tournaments but came up short in the first two at the Toronto Memorial Holiday Classic and Niagara Falls Challenge, losing in the playoff rounds in the spring. They were determined to change their fate this time around.
With a record of 2-1 in the preliminary round, the Dogs ranked first based on their goals for versus goals against record.
After defeating the Junior Titans 4-0 in game one, the Dogs would crush the rival PS101 Prospects 11-2 in game two. This was the same PS101 team who beat them in the final in Niagara.
Facing the Chicago Impact in their final preliminary game, the Americans stunned the Ice dogs 7-3. The win for the Impact was their only win of the tournament.
In the semi-final, the Ice Dogs faced the Junior Titans. The Ice Dogs rebounded from their defeat in game 3, coming out on top with a 6-4 score in a tight, intense game. This would set-up a championship game against the rival the PSP101 Prospects.
This game was not anything like the preliminary game as it went back and forth and every shift counted. The Ice Dogs were down 3-2 going into the third before they fought back. Led by Caleb Tiffin-Seminara's hat trick and fantastic give-and-go pass to Matthew Eplett for the game winner, Nathan Stapley sealed the deal with a timely empty netter to end the game as Orillia earned a 5-3 victory to take the title and the much coveted championship rings.
The Ice Dogs would score 29 goals in the tournament. The line of Matthew Bush, Sam Reda and Caleb Tiffin-Seminara combined for 35 points over the five games. Bush and Tiffin-Seminara led the team in scoring with 14 points while Matthew Eplett (9) and Sam Reda (7) contributed in a big way.
“We got huge contributions from all of our players and could not have won this tournament without the whole team buying into the system, knowing their roles and executing it,” said coach Brian Worsley. “Whether it was a big hit, strong back check, exceptional goaltending or overall defensive play, the team really came together."
The Ice Dogs hockey program, based out of Orillia, has players from many associations in the area including Oro, Midland, Elmvale, Barrie, Orillia and Coldwater.
The Ice Dogs will close out their 2018 spring/summer season when a combined team of major and minor bantam players head to Nottawasaga August 10-12 to play teams from Brampton, Markham, Toronto and Lakefield.
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