PeeWee Rep Otters are OMHA Champions!, News (Huntsville Minor Hockey)

With the final buzzer ringing on Sunday, the PeeWee Rep Otters wrapped up an impressive season with a record of 45-8-8. 

The Otters began the Final Series of this year's OMHA Playdowns against the talented Glanbrook Rangers with Game 1 on Saturday, March 12th and came away with an impressive win of 7-3 in front of a very large and supportive hometown crowd. The two teams returned to the Jack Bionda Arena the following day for a much tighter game that saw the Otters first on the scoreboard and then down 3-1. The Otters clawed their way back to take a 4-3 lead and then the teams traded goals making it 5-4 in favour of the Otters when the Glanbrook Rangers managed to find the net with less than a minute remaining to tie it up and force the game into Overtime - 10 minutes of Sudden Victory saw both teams scoreless, leaving Game 2 at a 5-5 tie.

The Otters travelled by coach bus on Saturday, March 19th to take on the Rangers in Glanbrook for Game 3. The Rangers team had a large and excited crowd, but the Otters left them little to cheer about, dominating the game from the drop of the puck and winning 6-1. On Sunday, the Otters returned to Glanbrook for Game 4. The Rangers were in "do or die" mode and came out very strong and aggressive in hopes of taking a game from the Otters and keeping their chances of winning alive. The Otters were having nothing of it - they kept their cool and played their game and when the final buzzer rang, the Otters had won 2-0 and were crowned the 2015-2016 PeeWee BB OMHA Champions.

Sunday was the final game for this year's PeeWee Rep Otters and was the culmination of a very successful season for this awesome bunch of hard working 

boys who demonstrated over and over that team play and grit are the main ingredients for a successful team. 

The Otters began their year with a preseason tournament win when they travelled to the Glanbrook Rangers Fall Classic Tournament in September and won gold. In October, the Otters won the Dan Bell Memorial Tournament  hosted by the South Muskoka Bears and in November the Otters won the Bobby Orr Classic hosted by the Parry Sound Shamrocks.

The Otters had a great deal of success throughout the regular season which is evident with their impressive record. They kept their success rolling in the OMHA Playdowns, posting a 12-1-1 record throughout the four playdown series that culminated in the boys leaving the arena wearing the coveted red hats and championship medals.

The Otters began the Preliminary Round with the South Muskoka Bears and came away with a 3 game sweep, despite the Bears' determination and "never quit" attitude. Next saw the Otters take on the Midland Centennials in an exciting series, with Game 1 belonging to the Otters with a 5-2 win, the Centennials reversing the score in Game 2 winning 5-2, Game 3 won by the Otters 5-4 in OT and Game 4 also going to the Otters with a 5-4 win, advancing them to the Semi Finals. Huntsville next met the Prince Edward County Kings where the Otters once again accomplished a 3 game sweep, though not easily. The Kings were strong opponents who never gave the Otters an inch to breath, which was demonstrated in the final scores all being won by only one goal, 4-3; 2-1 and 4-3 were the final tallies for the three games that kept the Otters fans on the edge of their seats from the drop of the puck to the sounding of the final buzzer.

The bench staff and families of this PeeWee Rep team couldn't be more proud of the boys for all their success this season and for them being rewarded with their ultimate goal of an OMHA Championship. Even better still is watching them represent Huntsville everywhere they  travelled and seeing the smiles on their faces as they spent the season with their buddies and demonstrated both on the ice and off the ice what it means to be a team player.

WAY TO GO BOYS!!