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