Barrie Colts U11A squad becomes two-time York-Simcoe champs

The following was submitted of behalf of the U11A Barrie Colts hockey team:

It has been an exciting season and the boys certainly didn’t disappoint with an equally exciting playoff run. 

There are so many accomplishments of this team. They started their season finishing as finalists in the Peggy Hill Classic Tournament in Barrie. The team rose to the challenge and defeated teams from around Ontario and finished as champions of the Silver Stick Regional Tournament. 

The team finished with a 2-2 record at their showing at the International Silver Stick Tournament, playing against other teams from North America. The winning streak stayed hot as they saw more success at the Doug Robinson All Star Challenge, where they finished as champions with a 4-0 record. 

On March 20, they worked as hard as they ever have to show they were well deserving of another championship as they were crowned York-Simcoe Minor Hockey League (YSMHL) champions. A talented group of athletes to say the least. 

The boys finished the regular season with a 22-2-0 record, placing them second in the league heading into playoffs. After a successful four wins, the team qualified for the quarterfinals against the Innisfil Winterhawks. The Barrie boys came out strong, taking the win 5-1, advancing them to the semi-finals. 

Matched up against the strong Collingwood Jr. Blues, it was anyone’s game. After a nail-biting, end-to-end game, the Barrie boys showed up again and took the win, 3-2, advancing them to the championship against year-long rival, the Orillia Terriers, on the road. 

Rotary Place in Orillia was full of blue and white and buzzing with excitement. Fans couldn’t have asked for a better match-up for the YSMHL championship. 

Playing with energy and confidence, the Colts came out skating hard and fast. The boys scored a power-play goal halfway into the first period to take the lead early.

They found the mesh again in the second, widening the lead. It was back and forth between ends for the rest of the game. They battled through a 5-on-3 and held onto the lead to take the win 2-0. What a game! 

Congratulations to the U11A Barrie Colts on your back-to-back YSMHL championships!

Thank you to the coaches and families who provided support for these young players throughout the season. More cowbell!

The U11A Barrie Colts advance to the OMHA's road to red hats as York-Simcoe champions at the end of the month. Best of luck on the road to red hats boys.

The Barrie team includes Cole Flachs, Cole Beaman, Daniel Soatto, Owen Rodney, Dylan Lee, Harrison Parker, Jack Davidson, Jake Comeau, Luke Thompson, Maddox Smith, Zac Vanek, Maddox Koval, Dominic Berube, Jacob Davidson, Walker Greavette, Che Mallette, and Matthew Vankrimpen. The team staff includes Jamie Vanek (head coach), Jon Berube (assistant coach), Brad Davidson (assistant coach), Don Rodney (trainer), and Janice Smith (manager).