Huron Heat teams compete in Oakville Hornets' Harvest Classic tournament

BY SHAWN LOUGHLIN

Seven Huron Heat teams travelled east over the weekend to take part in the Oakville Hornets’ annual Harvest Classic tournament, though none were able to bring home any gold.

 

The closest was the U18 BB Heat, which met the Burlington Barracudas Valiquette team in the semifinals on Sunday, but fell by a score of 6-1.

 

The team opened play on Friday afternoon with a 4-2 win over the Lindsay Lynx, followed by a 1-0 loss to the Mississauga Hurricanes that night.

 

The next day, the Heat played to a 2-2 tie with the Stoney Creek Sabres, followed by a 1-0 win over the Durham West Lightning in the quarterfinals later that evening before their loss to Burlington in the semifinals on Sunday.

 

The U11 A Heat opened their tournament on Friday morning with a 3-2 loss to the Brantford Ice Cats, followed by a 3-0 shutout loss to the North Bay Junior Lakers that evening. 

 

Bright and early the next morning, the team played to a 2-2 tie with the Burlington Barracudas and then a 1-1 tie with the host Oakville Hornets that afternoon, meaning they fell short of championship round play.

 

As for the U13 A Heat, they met the Nepean Wildcats to open their tournament on Friday morning, losing by a score of 3-0. History repeated itself that evening when the Heat lost to the Waterloo Ravens by an identical 3-0 score.

 

The following morning, the Heat beat the Lambeth Lancers by a score of 1-0 before tying the Grand River Mustangs at one that afternoon.

 

The U15 A Heat began their tournament play with a 5-3 loss to the Central York Panthers before beating the Owen Sound Ice Hawks that evening by a score of 6-0.

 

The next day, the Heat were in the win column again with a 4-3 victory over the Mississauga Hurricanes, earning them a berth in the quarterfinals that afternoon, where they met the Toronto Leaside Wildcats, but lost by a score of 3-0, ending their tournament.

 

The U15 B Heat were also in Oakville for the tournament and opened play with a 3-0 loss to the Kincardine Kinucks and then a 3-2 loss to the Barrie Sharks. The next morning, the team tied the Orangeville Tigers at one, followed by a 1-0 loss that night to the North Bay Junior Laker, ending their tournament.

 

The U15 BB Heat began their tournament with a 2-2 tie with the Woodstock Wildcats, followed by a 1-1 tie with the Stratford Aces, both on Friday. 

 

On Saturday, the team lost to the Toronto Leaside Wildcats by a score of 2-1, followed by another tie that night, this one at one goal each with the host Oakville Hornets.

 

The U18 B Heat began play in their tournament on Friday afternoon with a 1-0 win over the Mississauga Hurricanes LeMoine team, but a loss that night to the North Bay Junior Lakers by a score of 3-1. 

 

The next day, the Woodstock Wildcats beat the Heat by a score of 1-0, followed by a 2-1 loss at the hands of the Mississauga Hurricanes, ending the tournament for the locals.

 

Locally, much of the action was exhibition, but there were some regular season games to be found. On Sunday, Sept. 28, the U11 B Carroll team lost to the Twin Centre Hericanes in Clinton by a score of 4-2. Also that day, the U13 HL O’Donnell team ended its game with the Bluewater Hawks in Clinton in a scoreless draw.

 

Back on Wednesday, Sept. 24, the U15 BB Heat Prescott team beat the Stratford Aces in Seaforth by a score of 3-0 while, one day earlier, the U13 A Mahon team lost to the Kincardine Kinucks, also in Seaforth, by a score of 1-0.

 

The U13 A Heat Mahon team was scheduled to play the Bluewater Hawks on the road on Oct. 1, but a score for that game was unavailable at press time. 

 

Looking ahead, on Saturday, Oct. 4, the U18 BB Heat will host the Lakeshore Lightning in Clinton and then, on Sunday, the U11 A Nichol Heat team will welcome the Lambton Attack to Clinton.