Orillia's Kelsey's Over 50 hockey team went undefeated to win the championship at the Damn Yankees tournament in Niagara Falls, N.Y. on the weekend.
Orillia got off to a great start, blanking Pickering 7-0.
In game two, the local squad persevered, earning a hard-fought 2-1 triumph against a team from New York.
In the title game against Hamilton, it was a barn-burner. Orillia's Dave White gave Orillia an early lead, but Hamilton tied the game in the middle stanza.
John Beauchamp scored to restore Orillia's lead, but Hamilton rallied again. However, John Falcon scored with just over a minute left to lift Orillia to the championship.
Jim Roberts was strong between the pipes to backstop the team to victory. Falcon was named the tournament's most valuable player.
The local squad paid tribute to their former goalie, Steve Koprla, who helped the team win the same tournament four years earlier. He passed away this year, so each player had #33 on their helmets.
The players' helmets also carried an AR sticker to pay tribute to Angela Rehhorn, the Orilia woman who was killed in the recent Air Ethiopia crash.
Members of the victorious Orillia squad inclde Chris McMillan, Walter Kooey, John Beauchamp, Mike Daikoff, Aaron Smith, Dave Jenkins, Jeff Nicholson, Dave White, Randy Pauk, John Falcon, Jim Roberts and Gord Wiles.
