It was a heartbreaking end for an exciting week of hockey for Team NOHA.
The team comprised of the best 2007 birth year players from Northeastern Ontario finished 2-2 at the high-profile OHL Cup tournament down in Toronto.
The event is considered a key showcase tournament in front of the upcoming 2023 OHL Priority Selection.
The team opened with a 4-1 setback Wednesday night to the Peterborough U16 AAA Petes to open the tournament, then Thursday morning lost a heartbreaker 3-2 in overtime to the Waterloo Wolves who scored an equalizer in the dying seconds to force the overtime. Unfortunately under this format, an overtime loss does not include 1 point.
Team NOHA did get rolling after that beating the Mississauga Rebels 2-1 on Thursday night and finished off the tournament with a 5-3 win over the Don Mills Flyers on Friday morning.
"Team NOHA showed out incredibly well this week at the OHL Cup," said Jacob Brown, NOHA Technical Director, based out of North Bay.
"Although we didn't get a point for our overtime loss, I like to look at our team record as 2-1-1, something these young men and coaching staff should be incredibly proud of. Team NOHA was quite literally 0.1 seconds of hockey from winning our division and earning a playoff round birth on Saturday. I wish each one of these young men the best of luck in their hockey careers and any life venture they pursue. We would like to thank our coaching staff who were dedicated and dialed into a relentless pursuit of success."
The 2022 version of Team NOHA also finished with a 2-2 record with a roster that included nine Trappers along with current Hamilton Bulldogs forward Masen Wray.
Only two Trappers were named to the roster this season in forwards Brant Romaniuk and Bryden Shank as this year's roster was dominated by members of the Soo Greyhounds U18 AAA team.
Shank, who scored the lone goal for Team NOHA in the opening loss to Peterborough, was still thankful for the OHL Cup opportunity.
"Team NOHA itself was a huge accomplishment in my hockey path I am so lucky to have this opportunity," said Shank.
"It was a great experience to play in the OHL cup we had some great exposure and it was great to have the chance to make a name for ourselves. The team energy was great all the boys got along and I think that helped a lot with our success."
Brant Romaniuk, who calls Timmins home but has played for the last few seasons with the Trappers, finished with one goal and one assist in his four games at the event.
"It is the biggest tournament I have been a part of so you definitely get nervous out there and try not to make mistakes," said Romaniuk who is also an affiliate player with the NOJHL's Timmins Rock.
"I found we kept getting stronger every game and it showed in our results. I was pretty happy with my performance and was proud to represent the NOHA as well as the 7N1D foundation. It was an amazing experience and I couldn’t have picked a better group of players to go through it with."
Meanwhile local product Briir Long also did not get to continue on into playoff action in the OHL Cup with his club team.
The Astorville product who plays for the Mississauga Senators of the Greater Toronto Hockey League, had a strong tournament scoring 3 times and adding 4 assists for 7 points in four round-robin games with his team that also failed to make the playoffs.
Teammate and former North Bay U15 AAA Trapper Ryan Daze had no points in four games at the OHL showcase event.
