U18 Rep B Meteors Finalists At OMHA Championships, News (Mitchell Minor Hockey)

The Elmvale Coyotes rallied from a two-goal deficit in the third period, stunning the Larry Hudson Mitchell U18 Meteor Rep B boys 4-3 in overtime in the final of the OMHA Tier 1 Championships held April 5-7th in Kingston.

Mitchell opened round robin tournament play on Friday afternoon in their only game of the day at 1pm against Petrolia, looking to avenge an earlier loss in the Silver Stick International tournament in January.  Petrolia would score first late in the opening period, but Vincent Voros would tie things up in the middle frame.  The eventual game-winning goal was scored by U15 call-up Landon Van Bakel, with defenseman Ben Medhurst adding an insurance marker early in the final period.
Game two drew Niagara-on-the-Lake on Saturday at 11am, who carried a 2-0 lead into the third period.  Ethan Jarmuth would open the scoring for the Meteors midway through the final period, and Brayden Glauser would tie the game a couple of minutes later.  After several glorious game-winning scoring chances in the dying minutes, defenseman Jared Vosper sniped one past the goaltender with 5.9 seconds on the clock for the win.
Going into their third game vs the Elmvale Coyotes as the only undefeated team in their pool, Mitchell needed a win or a tie to secure the top pool seed in the playoff round.  Trailing 3-2 with 1:04 remaining, Jack Nolan tied the game at 3-3, which is how it ended when the buzzer went.  Additional goals were scored by Charlie Geiger & Jarmuth.
Sunday morning's semi-final opponent was Parry Sound, a familiar foe from Mitchell's OMHA championship-winning 2022 season semi-finals.  In another fantastic tight-checking and outstanding goaltending dual, cousins Jarrett & Landon Van Bakel each scored goals to lead 2-1 going into the third.  But Parry Sound would score with 5:46 remaining in regulation, eventually sending the game to overtime.  Captain Voros, like he has done all season, put the team on his back once again scoring the game winner with 1:24 left in the first overtime period sending Meteor teammates and parents into a frenzy!
The championship final brought a rematch with Elmvale, and Mitchell anticipated a tough game based on how evenly the two teams matched up a day earlier.  Giving up the first goal once again just brought extra motivation to the Meteors, scoring three unanswered goals in the second period by Jarmuth, Voros, and Nolan to take a 3-1 lead.  After the flood, Elmvale stormed back in the third on fresh ice with a quick goal early in the period, followed by a powerplay marker 40 seconds later to tie the game.  Expectations of another exciting back-and-forth battle in overtime were quickly extinguished 45 seconds into the overtime, sending the Elmvale Coyotes home with their first U18 Championship in 22 years.
Congrats to the town of Elmvale on capturing their first U18 Rep championship in 22 years, and to the young men of the Mitchell Meteor U18 Rep B team, you held your heads high and represented Mitchell with grace and dignity all year long as you drove toward that championship goal.  Great effort by everyone, and a fantastic season enjoyed by all parents and fans!