Local teams savour Capital Cup traditions

Posted Jan 12, 2012 By Dan Plouffe

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EMC sports - From trading pins with foreign friends to playing for division championships on the ice at Scotiabank Place, area hockey teams created a truckload of lasting memories at this year's edition of the Bell Capital Cup.

"A lot of guys who are now playing in the National Hockey League have fond memories of it," says Mike Eastwood, a former NHLer himself who coached the Kanata Blazers to the final of the minor atom AAA competition.

"For these kids, they know all that and they grew up in Kanata with this tournament right before their eyes every Christmas and now they get a chance to play in it.

"To make it to the finals is something they're going to take with them and remember for the rest of their lives."

Arenas across the city were buzzing throughout the event, which ran from Dec. 28 through Jan. 1, as 410 atom and peewee teams competed in 19 divisions at the 13th annual tournament, including a record 15 teams from overseas who were all hosted by local participants.

KOREAN EAGLES

Parents of the Carleton Place atom house B Kings who billeted the Korean Eagles found themselves cheering just as hard for their guests as they were for their own kids.

The action on the ice included multiple games each day, plus all-star contests and skills competitions.

The Nepean Raiders won the highest level championship out of area teams by capturing the minor peewee AAA division crown, while the Stittsville Rams were best in the major atom event.

"The organizers do a great job," says Ottawa West Golden Knights coach Rob Vandenberg. "It's really well-run and it's a highlight of the season every year."

The Golden Knights lost only once, in heartbreaking fashion in overtime to the Guelph Jr. Storm, to take home silver trophies in the minor peewee A division.

"It's always tough to lose in overtime," says Vandenberg, whose squad lost in the final of all three tournaments it's competed in this year.

"It's especially quiet in there now, they're wondering what it is they've gotta do to win, but it's a tough tournament to win."

Ottawa West outscored opponents from Scarborough, Stoney Creek and Russell-Metcalfe by a combined 15-3 in pool play prior to 5-0 and 2-1 playoff victories over North London and Cooksville.

The Golden Knights were led offensively by Evan Hamilton, Alexandre Wall, Dylan Lajeunesse, Luke Fletcher and Caleb Fletcher throughout the tournament, while Spencer Woodman stepped up in the final to earn first star honours.

On top of playing in the final at Scotiabank Place, home of the Ottawa Senators, a big highlight that sticks out for Vandenberg was the all-star game, where he got to work with a German Eagles coach and hear a little about that club's experience.

The German team featured some of the best players from several different cities and came together just a week before the tournament started.

"They were really passionate about the game," Vandenberg says. "This tournament was a really big deal for them."

The major atom Golden Knights billeted another one of the five German teams that attended the event, while the major peewee Knights hosted a group from Finland.

TOP SKILLS

"They were really nice kids, and highly-skilled players too," Vandenberg says. "It was really fun."

The West End Icemen won five games to reach the peewee house A final, where they fell 4-3 to a South Korean squad, while the Golden Knights were semifinalists in major atom A and minor atom A.

The Ottawa Ice earned the area's best result on the girls side, reaching the atom AA semifinal where they dropped a 3-2 double-overtime contest to division-champion Whitby.




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