LORDS ESCAPE SHARKS BITE TO TOP POWER RATINGS

The Durham Lords top the inaugural 2010-11 Power Ratings after five of 12 Challenge Series tournaments that will lead to the Challenge Cup in March 2011.  Fellow tourney champs Conestoga,  McMaster and Fanshawe sit in 5th, 7th and 9th respectively. Click here to see the entire Top 12.

MARAUDERS WREAK HAVOC IN CORNWALL

For three games, the McMaster Marauders couldn't win at the inaugural SLC Cornwall Invitational held Dec 5th and 6th.   But in the end, they didn't lose - and that was the difference as the Mac claimed the title with a lopsided 7-2 win over Georgian-Barrie in the final.

DURHAM LORDS OVER HUMBER TOURNEY

Despite being hosts of the 2011 Challenge Cup, Durham knew they had to win a tournament to guarantee a spot in the year end tournament.  Mission accomplished.

CONDORS SOAR TO FALL FACEOFF TITLE

And then there were three.

The Conestoga Condors became the third team to book a spot in the 2011 Challenge Cup with an impressive performance at the inaugural Georgian-Orillia Fall Faceoff on Friday November 19th.  The squad won all four of its games while only giving up two goals enroute to the title.

FANSHAWE TAKES SHERIDAN TOURNEY

Fanshawe has become the second team lock up a 2011 Challenge Cup spot after taking the Sheridan tournament on November 11th.

The Falcons emerged from the pack to meet the upstart Trent Excalibur in the final.   In the end, Trent's short-bench ran out of gas and proved not match for Fanshawe,  who emerged with a convincing 4-0 win.

Fanshawe joins St. Lawrence Cornwall as first time Challenge Cup qualfiers. 

SHARKS FEAST AT CANADORE

The St. Lawrence Cornwall Sharks were determined not to leave North Bay as bridesmaids again this year.

They didn't - and have now become the first team to book a ticket to the 2011 Challenge Cup

POWER RATINGS PUBLISHED NOVEMBER 30th

The inaugural 2010-11 Extramural Hockey Power Ratings will be published on November 30th and will include results from 4 tournaments - Canadore, Sheridan, Georgian-Orillia and Humber.  Ratings will be calculate after each tourney and teams playing in more than one of these tourneys will get a strength of schedule rating based on there previous performance this year in accordance to Power Rating guidelines.   For more info on Extramural Power Ratings,  click on our Power Ratings page.

BRUINS ROAR TO CHALLENGE CUP TITLE

For Sheridan, it was a day of lucky 7s against Seneca at the 2010 Challenge Cup extramural hockey championship. 

First, it was seven goals in a preliminary match-up against a Sting team the Bruins thought they wouldn't see again.  Then it was the 7th shooter in a championship game against a Seneca team that almost stung Sheridan the second time around.

Sheridan claimed the 2010 Challenge Cup title with a thrilling 3-2 shootout victory over Seneca that wasn't decided until the 7th shooter.   It was the second year in a row that the Challenge Cup final has been decided in extra time.

Sheridan entered the tourney as the 8th seed but played like a front runner, reeling off a 6-2 win over #5 Georgian-Orillia and a convincing 7-1 win over #4 Seneca in the preliminary round.   This set up a quarter-final tilt against #6 Georgian-Barrie in which the Bruins survived a ferocious Grizzly onslaught in the 3rd period nursing a 2-0 lead to prevail 4-1.  Next up was #2 Durham and Sheridan's two quick goals in the second period proved to be a difference in the 4-0 win.  Durham had advanced via a tough 2-1 win over Georgian-Orillia, who in turn had barely made the quarter-finals thanks to a 6-5 shootout win over #1 Humber-North that eliminated the Hawks from the playoffs.

This set-up a suprise rematch with Seneca in the final.

Seneca started the tourney well with a 3-1 win over #9 Canadore before getting rocked by Sheridan.  This set up a quarterfinal match-up with #3 George Brown, which Seneca pulled out by a 3-1 count.  Next up was a semi-final tilt against #11 Fleming-Lindsay, who had prevailed against  Boreal, Humber-Lakeshore and U of T Scarborough after losing their opener to Durham.   The Sting and the Auks were deadlocked at two until the Sting scored with just over 3 minutes to play and held on for the victory.

Sheridan may have thought they were in for an easy ride against Seneca but it was not to be.  Both teams battled hard, with Sheridan taking a 2-1 lead with just over two-minutes to play, only to see the Sting tie the game up again with under one minute to play. Overtime almost saw Seneca take the title but a great save off of a two-on-one in the dying seconds send the game to a shootout.   When the regulation shootout decided nothing, it was on to sudden death where finally the Bruins 7th shooter potted the championship winner.

Congratulations to all teams who participated in the extramural hockey Challenge Series and to those teams who qualified for the Challenge Cup.  The level of play and interest in extramural hockey has never been higher,  with 35 teams from 28 OCCCR-affiliated institutions and four university campuses taking part in tournaments this year.  With Sheridan's win this year and Boreal's in 2009, extramural hockey seems to embody the adage that on any given day, anyone can win - but you need to get there to have a shot! 

What team will roll lucky 7s in 2011?

#1 HAWKS GROUNDED BY UTSC IN CHALLENGE CUP OPENER

For U of T Scarborough, the third time was a charm - and for the second year in a row the top seed at the Challenge Cup has lost its opening game.

The 2010 Challenge Cup opened Thursday night with four games, and in the #12  UTSC squad proved to be spoilers, defeating the top rated Humber North Hawks 2-1.  It was the third meeting of the season between the two squads, with Humber taking the previous two games by the same 2-1 count.

The three other games followed the seeding script, with #2 Durham beating #11 Fleming-Lindsday 3-1; #3 George Brown destroying defending Challenge Cup champs Boreal 11-1; and #4 Seneca prevailing 3-1 over #9 Canadore.

With the win, UTSC has secured a spot in tomorrow's quarter-final round along with Durham.  Humber will have to defeat Canadore and then the loser of the Georgian-Orillia/Sheridan game Friday morning to advance to the quarter-finals.

HUMBER NORTH AND DURHAM CLAIM TOP SEEDS AT CHALLENGE CUP

The Humber North Hawks and Durham Lords occupy the #1 and #2 positions in the final Extramural Power Ratings and will be the top seeds in their pools at the Extramural Hockey Challenge Cup, held March 25 & 26 at Durham College in Oshawa. This year's tournament features winners of six tournaments and six wild card entries.

Humber enters the tournament with a stranglehold on the #1 position, sporting a 12-0-1-1 record in three tournaments, having won the Humber and UTSC invitationals and making it to the finals of the Grizzly Shootout. The Hawks will be looking for a much better result than last year's Challenge Cup appearance, where the squad came in as the #2 seed but went winless in three games.

Durham, with a 9-0-0-4 record, started quickly this year with a finals appearance at St. Lawrence-Brockville and a tourney win at Conestoga, but have struggled in their last two tourneys and are sporting a 3-3 record in their last six games. Durham will be looking to avoid a repeat of last year's poor performance at the Challenge Cup as well.

Durham secured the #2 seed by the slimmest of margins, finishing a mere 0.08 points ahead of # 3 George Brown and 0.32 points ahead of Seneca Newnham.  Both George Brown and Senecahave won tournaments this year.

Rounding out the field will be tournament winners and defending Challenge Cup champions Boreal; tournament winners Georgian-Barrie and wild card entries Georgian-Orillia, Humber-Lakeshore, Sheridan, Canadore, Fleming-Lindsay and U of T Scarborough #1.

Here are the final Extramural Power Ratings positions, points and records (Wins, Shootout/OT wins, Shootout/OT losses or Ties and Losses) for each of the qualifiers:


1. Humber (North)          80.06 pts -12-0-1-1

2. Durham                       58.65 pts - 9-0-0-4

3. George Brown             58.57 pts - 9-1-1-3

4. Seneca (Newnham)     58.33 pts - 8-3-1-3

5. Georgian (Orillia)         57.19 pts - 10-0-0-6

6. Georgian (Barrie)         54.85 pts - 11-0-1-5

7. Humber (Lakeshore)    53.75 pts - 7-2-1-4

8. Sheridan                       51.46 pts - 5-0-1-6

9. Canadore                     47.00 pts - 9-0-0-6

10. Boreal                        45.38 pts - 5-1-0-5

11. Fleming-Lindsay         43.94 pts - 6-2-2-8

12. UTSC # 1                  42.25 pts - 4-0-1-5

SENECA & MAC WIN FINAL TOURNEYS

Seneca-Newnham and McMaster won the final two qualifying tournaments for the 2010 Extramural Challenge Cup on March 12th.

An undermanned Seneca team won their pool at the Grizzly Shootout hosted by Georgian College with a 4-1 win over St. Lawrence Cornwall and a 2-1 shootout win over host Georgian-Barrie.  The Sting then defeated surprising St. Clair Chatham in the semi-finals before overcoming the powerhouse Humber-North squad 2-1 in overtime.

McMaster rolled to victory at the Sheridan Invitational by virtue of a 6-3 win over Wilfred Laurier University-Brantford and a tough 5-4 win over Conestoga College before facing the host Bruins in the final, where the Marauders prevailed again by a 6-3 score.

With the win, Seneca-Newnham earns a spot in the Challenge Cup March 25-26 at Durham College in Oshawa.  Unfortunately for McMaster, it's season is over as it is not an OCCCR-affiliated instituition and thus is ineligble for Challenge Cup qualification.

HAWKS ON TOP BUT GEORGIAN TEAMS ON RISE

The Humber North Hawks remain atop the Extramural Hockey Power Ratings, but Georgian's Barrie and Orillia teams have moved up significantly thanks to their performances at the Fleming Invitational.

Georgian-Orillia has jumped from #6 to #3 in the ratings after making it to the finals of the Fleming tourney.  Georgian-Barrie has made the biggest move, though, jumping from #13 to #4.

The Fleming tourney was significant for St. Lawrence Cornwall, too, as the squad dropped from #8 and is no longer in the Top 15.

Two tournaments remain in the Challenge Series and both are being held March 12th by Georgian and Sheridean respectively.    Georgian's tourney is full, but Sheridan is looking for two more teams.   For more info, contact Tom Hipz and tomhipz1@sheridanc.on.ca.

BARRIE CLAIMS FLEMING TITLE IN ALL-GEORGIAN FINAL

Fleming-Lindsay hosted the first ever Fleming Invitational on February 19th - and for the first time since the Challenge Cup series started two campuses from the same college met in the final.  In the end, Georgian-Barrie defeated archrivals Georgian-Orillia 5-4 in a hardfought final to take the crown and qualify for the Challenge Cup.

Barrie won its group with a 9-1 win over Centennial followed by two shutouts - 3-0 over St. Lawrence Cornwall and 4-0 over Canadore.   In semi-final action,  Barrie survived a tough match up against a talented but undermanned Sheridan squad to prevail 2-1 before squaring off against Orillia in the final.

Orillia emerged with a perfect record from a "group of death" that featured three teams in the top 6 of the power ratings, with wins over St. Lawrence Kingston, George Brown and Durham.  In the semis, Orillia took on the host Fleming squad and advanced to the final with a 2-1 victory.

Georgian-Barrie now joins Durham, George Brown, Humber North and Boreal as an automatic qualifier for the Challenge Cup March 26th & 27th in Oshawa.

CHALLENGE CUP EXPANDED TO 12 TEAMS

The 2010 Challenge Cup will be expanded from 10 to 12 teams as Durham College has been able to secure ice time on both the Thursday evening and Friday.

Teams will be seeded and split into four groups of 3 teams, with eight teams seeing action on Thursday evening. 

Currently, tournament winners Humber North, Durham, George Brown and Boreal have all confirmed their participation in the Challenge Cup.  With three tournaments to go, there is the potential for 7 tournament champion qualifiers and a minimum of 5 wild card entries.  Every game counts!

SHERIDAN TOURNEY ADDED TO CHALLENGE CUP SERIES

Sheridan will be hosting an 8 team tournament on Friday March 12th.  The tournament takes the place of the St. Clair Chatham tourney that was supposed to be held on February 19th.

Results of this tournament will count towards Challenge Cup qualification.

If you are interested, contact Tom Hipz at tomhipz1@sheridanc.on.ca

LORDS RULE CONESTOGA, KEEP PACE WITH HUMBER

The Durham Lords had already punched their ticket to the Challenge Cup as hosts prior to the Conestoga Invitational on February 5th.  By winning the tourney, though, the Lords have shown they are not content just to show up at their own party.

Durham went 3-0 enroute to the tournament title, defeating Sheridan, Fanshawe and Canadore in the process.  The win keeps Durham at #2 in the extramural hockey Power Ratings, just behind Humber.

With the win, a wild card spot for the Challenge Cup opens up as Durham has already secured a spot as host.   With three tournaments remaining,  8 spots remain up for grabs, with at least 5 wild card spots available.  Every game will count down the stretch!

HAWKS STAY ATOP POWER RATINGS WITH TOURNEY WIN

The Humber North Hawks stayed atop the extramural hockey Power Ratings with an undefeated run at the U of T Scarborough tournament on February 5th.

The Hawks defeated a tough UTSC squad 2-1 in round robin play and a fiesty Georgian Barrie team 3-2 to move to the semi-finals.  There, they met Humber Lakeshore in the first meeting between the campuses in 3 years, winning 5-2 to advance to the finals against Seneca-Newnham.  Seneca suffered a shoot-out loss to Lakeshore in round robin play, but upset Georgian-Orillia in the semi-finals to set up a showdown with Humber North.  However, an exhausted Seneca squad proved no match for the Hawks, with Humber prevailing 6-2.

In the consolation final, McMaster defeated Georgian Barrie 2-1 in a curfew shortened affair.

This is Humber's second tournament win, which opens up a wild card spot for the Challenge Cup in Oshawa March 25-26th.

HUMBER NORTH TOPS LATEST POWER RATINGS

Who says you can't move forward by staying still?  The Humber (North) Hawks have taken over top spot in the Extramural Power Ratings despite not having played a single game in the new year.  Humber North entered 2010 rated #2 thanks to winning the Humber Tournament in late November and vaulted into the #1 position after Boreal lost in the consolation (B) final of the St. Lawrence Brockville tourney. Boreal has now dropped to #4 in the Power Ratings.

George Brown moved up 10 spots to #3 after taking the Seneca tournament while Durham has moved into the Power Ratings at #2 thanks to an appearance in the finals of the St. Lawrence Brockville tourney.  Sheridan, Mohawk and St. Lawrence Kingston have also moved into the Top 15 for the first time.

More movement is bound to happen next week as both the U of T Scarborough and Conestoga tourneys take place on February 5th.   The next Power Ratings will be published by February 12th.

ST. CLAIR CHATHAM CANCELS FEB 19TH TOURNAMENT

St. Clair (Chatham) has unfortunately been forced to cancel its February 19th Challenge Cup qualifying tournament.  This reduces the number of qualifying tournaments from nine to eight, but does open up another wild-card spot for teams. St. Clair (Chatham) regrets the inconvenience to teams and is hopeful to be back on the schedule next season.

GRIZZLIES MAUL MARAUDERS IN EXHIBITION TOURNEY

Georgian College hosted a non-Challenge Cup series event on January 26th featuring two teams from Georgian- Barrie, Georgian-Owen Sound, Georgian-Orillia along with Lakehead-Orillia and McMaster.

A solid Lakehead team prevailed over then #5 Orillia in the final,  but it was McMaster that had the roughest ride.  Fresh off their Brockville tournament win, the Marauders came in as tourney favourites but left with only one shootout win in three games. 

In their first match-up, MAC faced Georgian-Barrie #2 and found themselves in a dog-fight.  The see-saw affair finished regulation knotted at 2-2, with Mac winning in a shootout. The Marauders then faced Georgian-Orillia in a match to determine the "A" finalist and held a 2-1 lead, but saw Orillia score four straight in a 5-2 win.  In the "B" Final, McMaster once again was in tough, but Georgian Barrie #1 eventually prevailed 4-1.

McMaster will get a chance for revenge at the U of T Scarborough tourney on February 5th when they meet Georgian-Orillia in round robin play.

HUSKIES TAKE SENECA TOURNEY CROWN

The George Brown Huskies rolled to the championship title at the Seneca Invitational on January 22nd.  The Huskies completed round robin play with a perfect 3-0 record, including victories over Canadore, Seneca-Markham and Seneca King George.


In the final, the Huskies met an upstart St. Lawrence Kingston squad, who had survived a tie-breaker with Centennial and the host Seneca-Newnham squad to advance to the final. However, the Vikings could not match the Huskies as George Brown prevailed 6-1.

The win clinches the Huskies a berth in the Challenge Cup final at Durham on March 25th & 26th.

MCMASTER TAKES BROCKVILLE TOURNEY - OPENS UP WILDCARD SPOT

The McMaster Marauders hockey club travelled a long way to participate in the St. Lawrence Brockville Invitational, but it was definitely worth the trip.  The Marauders posted a 4-0 record enroute to taking the championship title with a 4-2 win over Challenge Cup hosts Durham College in the final.

McMaster started the tournament with a bang,  handily defeating the #1 rated and defending Challenge Cup champion Boreal Vipers by a score of 6-0.  Mac then defeated Sheridan 3-1 to move on and meet Humber-Lakeshore in the semi-finals where they prevailed 3-2 to gain a berth in the final against Durham.

McMaster has been a perennial powerhouse in tournament circuit play, but is ineligible to compete in the Challenge Cup tournament because it is an non-OCCCR affiliated institution.  As a result of their tournament win,  a wild card spot will now open up for Challenge Cup.

In the consolation round, St. Lawrence Kingston defeated Boreal 4-2 in the final, avenging a shootout loss to the Vipers earlier in the day.

For full results visit St. Lawrence's fantastic new athletics web-site at
http://www.slcathletics.com/index.aspx?path=cmhockey

POWER RATINGS UPDATE

A revised set of Extramural Hockey Power Ratings has been distributed as a result of some "housecleaning" issues.  It did not change the ratings of teams in the Top 15 and no new results have been added since the publication Dec 1/09 Power Ratings.

First,it was noted that some teams who have not played yet did not have the proper amount of rating points assigned to them. After two tourneys it is supposed to be equal to their preseason Strenght of Schedule (SOS) rating and in some cases the points were either higher or lower than this amount. This has been corrected.   

Second, McMaster and University of Guelph-Kemptville have been added to the ratings as they are scheduled to play in the St. Lawrence Invitational.   McMaster actually finished on top of the 2008-09 Power Ratings but were not published since they are not an OCCCR member and are ineligible for Challenge Cup play.  However, they will bring a strength of schedule rating of 30 into the 2009-10 season.  Kemptville has never participated in an OCCCR tourney and as a result will enter the season with a SOS rating of 5.

Finally, Sheridan has decided to combine its two campuses Davis and Trafalgar campuses into one team, As a result, both Sheridan Davis and Sheridan Trafalgar have been removed from Power Ratings to be replaced by Sheridan. The combined results of both squads from 08-09 were tabulated and put into the 08-09 final ratings, resulting in the new Sheridan squad entering the season with an SOS rating of 15.

The next Power Ratings will be published during the week of January 25th after the results of the St. Lawrence Invitational and Seneca tournament have been tabulated.

CONESTOGA SEEKING A TEAM FOR FEB 5TH TOURNEY

Kitchener's Conestoga College has an opening for a team in its tournament on Friday February 5th.  The tournament currently has Conestoga, Canadore, St. Lawrence-Brockville, Fanshawe and Fleming-Lindsay on board.   If your school is interested, contact  Marlene Ford at mford@conestogac.on.ca

TOP TEAMS CLASH IN BROCKVILLE

St. Lawrence-Brockville will be host to three of the top four teams in the Extramural Hockey Power Ratings on January 15th when 10 teams hit the ice in the annual St. Lawrence Invitational in Brockville.

The tournament will feature #1 College Boreal, #3 St. Lawrence Cornwall and #4 Humber Lakeshore.  Also in attendance will be McMaster University, who ended #2 in the final 2008-09 Power Ratings thanks to a tournament win at Humber and a semi-final appearance in the Georgian Shootout. Finally, #8 Canadore will also compete, giving the tournament four Top Ten squads.

The game of the tournament may very well be the first one of the day as Boreal takes on McMaster. Can the Marauders upend the defending Challenge Cup champs and end their 10 game win streak or will Boreal continue to roll?

Durham College, winner of last year's Georgian Shootout, is also looking to impress as are St. Lawrence Brockville and St. Lawrence Kingston.   Rounding out the field is Sheridan College and the University of Guelph - Kemptville College. 

All in all, it should be a great start to the New Year!  For a full schedule and results, visit http://www.slcathletics.com/