A trio of area hockey teams should be in the medal mix at OFSAA.

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A trio of area hockey teams should be in the medal mix at OFSAA.

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The St. Anne Saints will host the OFSAA boy’s AAA championship starting on Tuesday while the Essex Red Raiders and Belle River Nobles headed to Sudbury for the OFSAA boys’ AA/A championship.

This will be the second time in three years that St. Anne has hosted OFSAA boys’ AAA hockey, but the Saints aren’t simply at the event as the host team.

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“The host team is usually ranked 15th or 16th,” Saints’ head coach Steve Burke said. “The boys wanted to get there with a good record and we got there undefeated (in league play). With the guys, a lot of the talk was let’s keep winning.”

As the WECSSAA and SWOSSAA champs, St. Anne will carry the No. 6 seed into the 16-team tournament. The Saints are in a pool with No. 4 Kawartha Lakes I.E. Weldon, No. 9 Hamilton Bishop Ryan and No. 15 North Bay St. Joseph-Scollard Hall. The Saints open play at 10 a.m. on Tuesday against Bishop Ryan at the Atlas tube Centre and need a top two finish in pool play to reach quarter-final play.

“I think the sixth spot is ideal for us,” Burke said. “The goal is always gold, but I think we can get out of the round robin and one good (quarter-final) game and you’re in the medal round. We’re hoping everything comes together.”

The Saints return just three players from the 2023 team in Hudson Dalpe, Matthew Spencer and Vaughn Truppe. Goalie Zayne Copeland, Brayden Lappalainen, Matteo Mosca and Erie Wood will also be key to the Saints’ success.

“We have three solid lines and our fourth line is good defensively,” Burke said. “Our go-to guys have to want to win and play and carry the team. During the season, we weren’t sure what kind of team we had, but in playoffs we saw our leaders really shine.”

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Meanwhile, the Red Raiders will be making their first trip to OFSAA in 17 years and carry high expectations as the tournament’s No. 2 seed.

“The last time Essex was at OFSAA was 2008 and we were the No. 3 seeded team,” Red Raiders’ coach John Forbes said. “Coming up short (of the podium) in 2008 left us with a bitter taste.

“This year, with us being the No. 2 seed, has brought some of those expectations on us once again, but there are a lot of good teams in the hunt for OFSAA gold.”

Essex will open pool play at 10 a.m. on Tuesday against No. 13 Niagara Falls Saint Paul. The Red Raiders will also face No. 11 Guelph St. James and host and No. 8 seed Sudbury St. Charles looking for a top two finish to advance to quarter-final play.

“We have great depth to keep us in the hunt,” Forbes said of a potential six games in three days. “Our captain, Riley Zanier, and Nash Driedger lead the way on defence with Reed Vander Vecht in net and Parker Wuerch leading our forwards. The rest of the team brings a punch that really allows us to be a family and hard to beat.”

Essex’s win at SWOSSAA opened the door for Belle River to challenge for the area’s second berth at the tournament and the Nobles carry the No. 6 seed into the event.

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“We were just wondering where we would be placed,” Nobles’ coach Dave Bracken said. “It’s always like waking up Christmas morning.”

Belle River took gold in 2017 and has been to the event eight times since 2005.

“We learned quickly that seedings don’t mean anything,” Bracken said. “Everyone there has won their area. You have to take every team serious.”

Belle River will open pool play on Tuesday against No. 9 Walkerton Sacred Heart at 10 a.m. The club will also face No. 4 St. Thomas Parkside and No. 15 Hearst in search of a top two finish to advance to quarter-final play.

“I feel, if we play our game, we’ll have a chance against anyone there,” said Bracken, whose team will host the tournament in 2027. “I think the team that we have, I don’t know if we’ve had a better team defensively. 

“We have to play good in our zone and take advantage of our chances to score goals. We’re a defence-first team. We’re not going to get into a match where we’re trying to outscore the opposition. We have to limit chances and, if we do that, we have enough firepower to win these games.”

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