U18 Southwest Admirals bring home silver from Silver Stick in Petrolia

BY SHAWN LOUGHLIN

The Southwest Admirals have been busy in the last week or two, especially the U18 A team, which was in Petrolia at the end of 2025 for the regional Silver Stick Tournament, where the locals made it to the finals only to come up just short.

 

Action began on Dec. 28 with a 6-2 loss to the Strathroy Junior Jets and then a 3-1 loss to the South Oxford Storm. The next night, the team posted its first win of the tournament with a 3-2 victory over the South Oxford Storm.

 

That was good enough to send the Admirals to the semi-finals on Dec. 30, which saw the locals beat the Strathroy Junior Jets by a score of 3-0 before falling to the Whitby Wildcats in the finals by a score of 2-1.

 

In Kincardine for the regional Silver Stick Tournament, both the U13 B and U15 B teams were in action.  

 

The U15 B team opened its tournament on Dec. 27 with a 1-0 win over the West Coast White Caps followed by a 3-0 loss to the Midwest 49ers. The team was then able to rest up on Dec. 28 before returning to the ice on Dec. 29, which is when they fell to the West Coast White Caps by a score of 4-3 in the quarter-finals. 

 

In the same tournament, the U13 B Admirals were not so lucky, going winless in Kincardine.

 

The team opened its tournament with Dec. 27 losses to the Grey Bruce Bulls (3-0) and Shelburne Wolves (3-0). The next action the Admirals saw was on Dec. 29, a 9-4 loss to the South Simcoe Storm.

 

In regular season action, the U18 A Admirals beat the Bruce Grey Bulls on Friday, Jan. 2 in Clinton by a score of 6-1, the same night that the U18 B Admirals lost to the West Coast White Caps by a score of 4-1 in Lucknow.

 

The next day, the U10 A Admirals beat the Midwest 49ers in Walkerton by a score of 7-4, the U11 A team lost to the Southeast Surge in Palmerston by a score of 2-1, the U11 B team shutout the Southeast Surge by a score of 3-0 in Palmerston, the U13 A Admirals beat the Tri-Centre Junior Attack on the road by a score of 6-2 and the U14 A team lost to the West Coast White Caps in Ripley by a score of 3-1.

 

Also that day, the U15 B Admirals shutout the Southeast Surge in Brussels by a score of 4-0 and the U18 A team beat the Bruce Grey Bulls in Southampton by a score of 4-2.

 

On Sunday, Jan. 4, the game between the U16 A Admirals and the Tri-Centre Junior Attack on the road ended tied at two, while the U12 A team beat the Midwest 49ers by a score of 2-1 in Hanover, the U13 B team beat the Tri-Centre Junior Attack in Blyth by a score of 6-5, the U10 A Admirals lost to the Bruce Grey Bulls by a score of 6-1 on the road, the U11 A team beat the Midwest 49ers in Blyth by a score of 5-3, the U18 B Admirals lost to the Tri-Centre Junior Attack on the road by a score of 6-4 and the U15 B Admirals lost to the West Coast White Caps in Lucknow by a score of 5-2.

 

On Monday, Jan. 5, the U16 A Admirals beat the Southeast Surge in Palmerston by a score of 3-1. The next night, the U15 A team played the Bruce Grey Bulls on the road and the U18 B team played the Southeast Surge in Goderich, followed by a Jan. 7 game between the U18 A Admirals and the Southeast Surge on the road and a Jan. 8 game in Tiverton between the U16 A Admirals and the West Coast White Caps, but scores for those games were unavailable at press time.

 

Looking ahead, the U10 A team will take part in the 66th annual Preston International Hockey Tournament this weekend, while, in regular season action, the U18 A Admirals will play the Tri-Centre Junior Attack in Clinton on Friday, Jan. 9.

 

The next day, the U11 B team will play the Midwest 49ers, the U11 A team will play the Bruce Grey Bulls, the U13 A Admirals will play the Tri-Centre Junior Attack and the U13 B Admirals will take on the Southeast Surge, all on the road. The U14 A team will play the West Coast White Caps in Zurich, the U12 A team will play the West Coast White Caps in Seaforth, the U16 A Admirals will play the Bruce Grey Bulls in Southampton and the U15 A Admirals will host the West Coast White Caps in Brussels.

 

On Sunday, Jan. 11, the U13 A Admirals will play the Southeast Surge and the U14 A team will play the Tri-Centre Junior Attack, both in Seaforth, while, in Hensall, the U11 B team will play the Tri-Centre Junior Attack and the U15 A team will play the Midwest 49ers and the U16 A team will play the West Coast White Caps, both in Clinton. On the road, the U12 A team will play the Southeast Surge.

 

In mid-week action, on Wednesday, Jan. 14, the U15 B team will play the West Coast White Caps in Blyth, followed by Jan. 15 games between the U12 A Admirals and the Bruce Grey Bulls and the U11 B Admirals and the West Coast White Caps, both on the road. Also that day, the U14 A International Silver Stick finals in Newmarket begin with the U14 A Admirals playing the Woodstock Junior Navy Vets.