U10 Peterborough Wolverines Crowned Provincial Champions

The U10 Peterborough Wolverines of the Ontario Summer Football League are provincial champions, winning the Sandy Ruckstuhl Memorial Cup after defeating the Mississauga Huskies U10, 25-14, at the Western Alumni Stadium in London on Sunday afternoon.

Photo courtesy of the Peterborough Wolverines.

The game was a rubber match after both teams gave each other their only loss in the regular season, playing twice prior to the championship. Peterborough’s home opener resulted in a 40-24 win on May 27. The Huskies got revenge with a 36-22 win on June 17.

Peterborough went a perfect 3-0 in the playoffs after going 5-1 in the regular season. Their opening postseason game against the Guelph Jr. Gryphons U10 yielded their second shutout of the season in a 40-0 win on July 15. They followed up their perfect performance by beating the York Lions in a 75-20 rout to make the championship game.

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Lakers Surge In Third Period With Taite Cattoni Capping Off Overtime For Lakers 10-9 Win Over Brooklin L.C.

The Lakers finish off their regular season in dramatic fashion as Taite Cattoni scored the walk-off game-winning goal in overtime for a 10-9 victory over the Brooklin L.C. at the Peterborough Memorial Centre on Thursday night.

Photo courtesy of Anna Taylor and the Peterborough Lakers.

Eli McLaughlin opened the scoring with a power play goal just over five minutes into the game. Unfortunately, it was Peterborough’s only goal of the period. Brooklin’s Riley Hutchcraft was solid in net, stopping 21 of 22 shots in the first. The visitors were able to get back-to-back goals from Riley Waters and Mike Byrne to go up 2-1 after the first.

Things got worse for the Lakers as their lack of discipline got the best of them. They allowed three straight power play goals from Brooklin in the period, allowing a total of five in the frame. The Lakers were trying to keep it a game as McLaughlin scored his second of the game, Josh Currier and Matt Gilray also found the scoresheet for Peterborough as the home team found themselves in a 7-4 deficit going into the third period.

Jack Boyden helped Brooklin pull away to start the final frame to open the period’s first gale for an 8-4 lead. Peterborough began to wake up their offense and attempted to mount the comeback. Both Cattoni brothers, Taite and Holden found the back of the net each, McLaughlin capped off a hat trick, Currier got his second of the game and Austin Hasen got on the score sheet for a five-goal period from the Lakers. Brooklin managed to must another goal as Byrne got an unassisted score during Peterborough’s rush that eventually led to a 9-9 tie after regulation.

It didn’t take long for fans to walk out of the Memorial Centre happy as Taite Cattoni received a pass against the grain and rifled it past Hutchcraft to get the walk-off goal in overtime for a 10-9 win.

“They outworked us in the first two periods and then as a veteran team, we kind of came alive and said ‘stop messing around’ and found a way to finish and win the game,” said Taite.“I ran through the middle trying to clear space for Turner (Evans) and a guy opened his back and I tried to get a good pick on him and hit him well. I caught the ball and as soon as I caught it I threw a fake and saw him go down and put it top right corner.”

Drew Hutchinson gets the win in net for Peterborough, stopping 44/53 shots.

The Lakers will host the Brooklin L.C. in the first round of the playoffs in a best-of-seven series.

The following is the playoff schedule:

• Game one: Aug. 3 at 8 p.m. @ Peterborough

• Game two: Aug. 4 at 8 p.m. @ Brooklin

• Game three: Aug. 6 at 7 p.m. @ Peterborough

• Game four: Aug. 8 at 8 p.m. @ Brooklin

• Game five: Aug. 10 at 8 p.m. @ Peterborough *if necessary 

Games six and seven, to be played if necessary, are to be confirmed. 

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Curve Lake First Nation Athletes Bring Back Five Medals From North American Indigenous Games In Halifax

Curve Lake First Nation representing Team Ontario is bringing back five medals including one gold, two silver and two bronze from Halifax in the 2023 North American Indigenous Games in softball and soccer.

(From Left to Right) Top Row: McKenzie Taylor, Softball; Danika Jacobs, Soccer; Abagail Jacobs, soccer; Grady Taylor, Softball and Quinn Jacobs, Softball. Bottom Row (softball): Jeffery Jacobs, Quinn Jacobs, Carter Jacobs, Tristin Williams, Ryker Jacobs, Louis Jacobs, Josh Knott and Grady Taylor. Photo courtesy of Curve Lake First Nation.

McKenzie Taylor was the lone gold medalist for U16 Female Softball. Team Ontario split the finals with Team Manitoba for gold due to weather cancellations for the playoffs.

The following are Team Ontario’s results for U16 Female Softball:

• Game 1, July 17: 9-0 win vs. Alberta

• Game 2, July 17: 9-4 win vs. Nova Scotia

• Game 3, July 18: 7-3 loss vs. Manitoba

• Game 4, July 19: 8-1 win vs. British Columbia

• Game 5, July 20: 12-3 win vs. Saskatchewan

• Game 6: July 20: 15-2 win vs. Wisconsin

• Gold Medal Game: vs. Manitoba (cancelled)

Danika and Abagail Jacobs were able to take home silver for Team Ontario in U19 Female Soccer. Ontario went undefeated with a 3-0-1 record in their preliminary pools (Pool B) but fell short in the finals to Team Alberta, 5-1.

The following are Team Ontario’s results for U19 Female Soccer:

• Game 1, July 17: 9-0 win vs. Nova Scotia

• Game 2, July 18: 6-2 win vs. Wisconsin

• Game 3, July 19: 0-0 draw vs. Saskatchewan

• Game 4, July 20: 2-0 win vs. Saskatchewan

• Finals, July 22: 5-1 loss vs. Alberta

Grady Taylor and Quinn Jacobs were the lone boys who brought back medals for Curve Lake, earning bronze in U16 Male Softball representing Team Ontario. They had a 2-2 record in the preliminaries that qualified them for the bronze medal match that they won 12-5 vs. British Columbia.

The following are Team Ontario’s results for U16 Male Softball:

• Game 1, July 17: 13-3 loss vs. Saskatchewan

• Game 2, July 18: 11-4 win vs. Nova Scotia

• Game 3, July 18: 5-4 win vs. British Columbia

• Game 4, July 19: 14-7 loss vs. Manitoba

• Silver Medal Game, July 12: 12-5 win vs. British Columbia

The U19 Male softball team had finished in fifth place and had nine Curve Lake First Nation members (one coach and eight players).

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Peterborough Petes' Owen Beck and Carson Cameron Participate In Hockey Canada Program of Excellence Summer Meetings

Peterborough Petes’ Owen Beck and Carson Cameron are two of 111 players that took part in the Program of Excellence Summer Meetings in preparation for the 2023 World U-17 Hockey Challenge and the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship, announced by Hockey Canada on Wednesday night.

Carson Cameron (left) and Owen Beck (right). Both joined the Petes this year but in different ways. Beck was traded to the Petes from the Mississauga Steelheads on Jan. 7 while Cameron was drafted as the team’s first-round pick in this year’s OHL Priority Selection. Photos by David Tuan Bui and Samantha Bianco.

Beck was selected for the WJC and was a second-round pick of the Montreal Canadiens, signing an entry-level contract with them in October. He was one of three players from Canada’s gold medal-winning team in the 2023 World Junior Championship to participate in the meetings. The Port Hope forward is fresh from an OHL Championship with the Peterborough Petes after joining the team on Jan. 7 prior to the trade deadline. He was a late addition to last year’s Canadian World Junior Team, racking up an assist in three games.

Cameron is a 16-year-old defenceman from Bobcaygeon who is entering his first OHL season with the Petes. Peterborough selected him in the first round, 13th overall of the 2023 OHL Priority Selection in April. He signed a Standard Player Agreement on May 4. Cameron anchored the blueline for Team Ontario at last year’s Canada Winter Games. He helped lead the team to a gold medal, picking up five points in six games.

The program consisted of virtual meetings that covered topics such as education on the Program of Excellence, Sport Safety presentations, short-term international competition preparation and meetings with the Hockey Canada management group according to a press release.

The discussions allow participants to continue to evolve as high-performance athletes and utilize the strengths and experience of the Program of Excellence’s leadership.

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Peterborough Lakers Clinch Second Place With Dominant 14-7 Road Win Over Brooklin L.C.

The Peterborough Lakers have locked up second place and home-field advantage in the first round of the playoffs after handily defeating Brooklin L.C., 14-7, at the Iroquois Park Sports Centre on Wednesday.

Peterborough’s win improves their record to 11-4, clinching the second-place spot and home-field advantage for the first round of the playoffs. Photo courtesy of the Peterborough Lakers.

Peterborough wasted no time as Thomas Hoggarth and Josh Currier scored within the first minute to go up 2-0. Brooklin countered with two goals of their for the 2-2 tie with scores from Liam Osbourne and Jordi Jones-Smith. Holden Cattoni continued his to keep his reign as the league’s scoring leader, getting one on the powerplay for regain the lead. The Lakers never looked back at that point. Turner Evans found the scoresheet 26 seconds later to double up the lead as Cattoni scored his second of the game to round out the period, his league-leading 27th goal of the season. The Lakers had a 5-2 lead going into the second.

Peterborough kept their foot on the gas with two straight goals from Austin Hasen and Currier’s second goal for a 7-2 lead. The two teams mostly traded goals for the rest of the period but two powerplay goals from the Lakers gave them a comfortable lead going into the third, 11-5. Cattoni scored his third for the hat trick at the end of the period for his 28th score of the season.

The Lakers slowed the pace of the game in the third period and kept it a low-scoring affair. Brooklin scored the first and last goal of the period but the Lakers rung off three-straight scores in between to win the period, 3-2 and ultimately the game, 14-7.

Landon Kells picks up the win in net for Peterborough as the Lakers clinch second place in the standings behind Six Nations.

Peterborough finishes off the regular season at home in the second leg of the back-to-back home-and-home series against Brooklin at the Peterborough Memorial Centre on Thursday. The game is Little Lakers Night in partnership with Five Counties Children’s Centre which features face painting, a silent auction and Little Lakers t-shirt sales.

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U10 Peterborough Wolverines Advance to Provincial Football Championship After 70-25 Rout

The U10 Peterborough Wolverines of the Ontario Summer Football League have punched their ticket to a provincial championship game after routing the York Lions 70-25 at Thomas A. Stewart Secondary School on Saturday.

Photo courtesy of the Peterborough Wolverines.

The win gives the Wolverines a date with the Mississauga Huskies U10 in the finals of the Sandy Ruckstuhl Memorial Cup (the name of the AA U10 playoffs). The finals take place at the Western Alumni Stadium in London this Sunday.

Both teams have played each other twice during the regular season, splitting the series 1-1 with the home team as the victor in both games. Peterborough’s home opener resulted in a 40-24 win on May 27. The Huskies got revenge with a 36-22 win on June 17. The championship is a rubber match for the teams as their only loss (in the regular season and playoffs) have come off each other.

Peterborough had a 5-1 record during the regular season and is 2-0 in the playoffs. Their opening postseason game against the Guelph Jr. Gryphons U10 yielded their second shutout of the season in a 40-0 win on July 15. They followed up their perfect performance by beating the York Lions on Saturday to make the championship.

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Peterborough Lakers Impress With Best Offensive Showing of the Season With 16-7 Win Over Cobourg Kodiaks

The Peterborough Lakers complete the regular-season sweep of the Cobourg Kodiaks, defeating them in their best offensive game 16-7, at the Cobourg Community Centre on Sunday night.

The Lakers have swept the Kodiaks this regular season in four matchups, outscoring them 50-33 in the series. Photo courtesy of the Peterborough Lakers.

The win was a rebound from Thursday’s 9-8 overtime loss to the Chiefs. Six Nations clinched first place after beating the Lakers.

“It’s definitely a good win and we have playoffs coming up,” said Blake McDonald, Lakers defender. “It feels good to get a big win after a tough loss the other night so we’re back on track and will hopefully continue to play like this going forward.”

Peterborough asserted their dominance early with four goals to open the period. Both teams traded two goals apiece after that run but the Lakers wind up with a 6-2 lead after the first period with six different goal scorers. McDonald scored his first goal of the season 5:03 into the game.

The second frame was practically a repeat of the first. Peterborough had another six-goal period to Cobourg’s three. Taite Cattoni rounded off a hat trick with less than 14 seconds in the frame, scoring two goals in the second. Peterborough led 12-5 going into the final stanza.

Peterborough held Cobourg in check again, allowing only a goal to being and end the period. They found the back of the net four straight times between Cobourg’s goals. Lakers’s Holden Cattoni is keeping pace to win this year’s scoring title, tacking on his 24th and 25th of the season in back-to-back scores of those four goals. The defending Mann Cup champions left Cobourg with a 16-7 victory and got a series four-game sweep of the Kodiaks in the regular season.

Drew Hutchinson snagged the win in net for the Lakers, stopping 38 shots, moving to a 4-2 record.

Peterborough will play Brooklin L.C. twice in a home-and-home back-to-back series to round out their regular season. The Lakers will hit the road Wednesday to begin the two-game stretch and finish out at home at the Peterborough Memorial Centre on Thursday.

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Family Hosts Memorial Golf Tournament To Honour Their Five-Year-Old Son Passing Away From Golf Cart Accident

UPDATED: 9 p.m. 23-07-23

A tragic golf cart incident that resulted in the life of five-year-old William Gardner has got his family to create a memorial golf tournament to honour him at Bellmere Winds Golf Resort.

(from left to right) Elizabeth, Aurora, William and Matt Gardner. The family had lived overseas for the past 15 years and often came back during the summer season. Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Gardner.

The William Rock Gardner Golf Memorial tournament in Keene is slated for July 29 and will run from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. with prizes and draws from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

The incident occurred a year ago. The Gardner family and their two friends were at the lower half of Bellemere to play sports and at the splash pad. They were travelling in a golf cart going downhill as it started to accelerate with the brakes failing.

After the cart swayed out of control, it flipped and ejected all the passengers onto the roadside according to Elizabeth Gardner, William’s mother. He sustained massive head trauma and was airlifted to SickKids Hospital. The parents and their friends had sustained injuries (with the latter taking the year off to recover) from the incident and were treated at Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC). His seven-year-old sister Aurora was unharmed during the accident but had feelings of guilt and shame as the only sibling to survive said Elizabeth.

“Our family at that time knew everything was changing and I laid on the roadside trying to keep him breathing,” she explained.

All photos courtesy of Elizabeth Gardner.

The family visited William at SickKids and made the difficult decision to let him go due to the severe brain damage he suffered.

“After saying goodbye to William, both my husband and I were admitted to Peterborough Hospital due to our injuries,” explained Elizabeth. “I ended up staying in Peterborough Hospital for over a month recovering and planning my son’s funeral.”

Despite the unfortunate series of events, the family bears no ill will towards anyone and is grateful for the care that they received.

“Sick Kids Hospital and Peterborough Regional Health Centre were extremely supportive during our darkest days,” explained Elizabeth. “These golf tournaments will be in support of both of those institutions.”

The police report determined that the mishap was an accident due to the golf cart’s malfunction according to Elizabeth. Bellemere Winds had offered their golf resort to host the memorial tournament.

“We are still devastated from everything but cannot thank the Bellmere owners enough for pushing for this golf tournament,” said Elizabeth. “We are thankful we can honour William, as memories and events like these keep him alive.”

William was three weeks short of celebrating his fifth birthday upon his passing. He was entering kindergarten that September.

“He was a little boy with a great sense of humour and loved to run around in his bare feet,” said Elizabeth. “William loved all kids and above all loved playing with anybody but especially his sister Aurora.”

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Caley's Crease Earns Sponsorship Naming Rights For Kinsmen Twin-Pad Arena

Retail sports store Caley’s Crease has earned the sponsorship naming rights for the Kinsmen Civic Centre west twin-pad arena at 1 Kinsmen Way on Sherbrooke Street, announced by The City of Peterborough on Friday.

In recent years, the City has invested in the infrastructure at the Kinsmen Civic Centre, which is expected to extend the life of the facility for another 20-plus years. Photo courtesy of Caley’s Crease.

“The City of Peterborough is pleased to welcome the new sponsor at the Kinsmen Civic Centre which is also leasing space for a sports store that offers services to Kinsmen Civic Centre users as well as customers from the broader community,” said Heather Stephens, City of Peterborough recreation programs and partnerships manager.

Caley’s Crease sells hockey and lacrosse equipment while specializing in hockey goalie equipment. The storefront can be accessed from both inside Kinsmen Civic Centre as well as from a separate exterior entrance.

“Caleys Crease is excited to grow and expand in the community by adding our second location at the Kinsmen Civic Centre,” said Colin Caley of Caley’s Crease. “In addition to naming rights to an ice pad, Caleys Crease offers the Kinsmen Civic Centre a new pro shop offering skate sharpening and equipment sales to users.”

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Peterborough Lakers Lose Close Game With Six Nations in Overtime 9-8; Chiefs Clinch First Place

The Peterborough Lakers and Six Nations Chiefs played a close and chippy game but the visitors came out on top and clinch first place with a 9-8 overtime win at the Peterborough Memorial Centre (PMC) on Thursday night.

Johnny “Shooter” Davis performed the the ceremonial faceoff to commemorate and honour the 1973 Mann Cup CHampion Lakers with their 50th anniversary of their title win. Photo courtesy of the Peterborough Lakers.

The ceremonial faceoff featured members of the 1973 Mann Cup Champion Lakers that recognize the 50th anniversary of their title win.

The visitors quickly quieted the PMC as one of the league’s top scorers Lyle Thompson, drew first blood seven seconds in for a 1-0 lead. The league leader in goals Holden Cattoni was not to be outdone as he got Peterborough on the board just over five-and-a-half minutes later. Sam LeClair pulled Six Nations ahead on the powerplay and kept that 2-1 lead into the second period.

Six Nations kept putting on the pressure, beating Lakers goalie Landon Kells twice to extend their lead 4-1. Peterborough was able to capitalize on their special teams with a pair of power play goals. That was part of a four-goal run to end the period and get their first lead of the game, 5-4.

The third period was a seesaw battle between both teams as neither team was able to score consecutive goals. The edge went to Six Nations as Thompson scored two goals in the frame for a hat trick. The game was tied at eight and overtime was needed to settle things.

Thompson, just as he scored first in the first and third period comes up big again for Six Nations as he was able to throw a bouncing shot past Kells for the 9-8 win and a first-place clinch.

Things got physical with the teams after the goal as they were pushing and shoving each other for several minutes. The scuffle occurred after Six Nation’s Eric Fannell shoved Robert Hope aside with his forearm to celebrate the goal with his teammates and the latter confronted the Chief immediately after the contact.

Both teams eventually stopped and went through the handshake line.

The win puts Six Nations six points ahead of the Lakers while owning the tiebreaker to seal up first place for the regular season. The Lakers have three games left including back-to-back games against the third-place Brooklin L.C. who are trying to overtake Peterborough, trailing four points.

The Lakers play the Cobourg Kodiaks this Sunday on the road for their next game scheduled for 6 p.m.

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