Kitchener, Ont. – Team OMHA Black won Bronze at the 2018 OHL Gold Cup in a 7 – 3 win over Team OMHA White Saturday morning at Activa Sportsplex in Kitchener, Ontario.

Team OMHA Black scored the only goal in the first, Brody Waters from Cameron Butler, Quinton Byfield.

The second period saw five pucks hit the mesh, Team OMHA White scoring just 22 seconds in Ryan Mansfield (Ben Roger) and again 30 seconds later Jackson Kirk (Cameron Tolnai) to take the lead.

Team OMHA Black’s Spencer Smith tied it up from Alec Belanger. Once again taking the lead  thanks to Zack Terry from Evan Vierling, Cameron Butler.

Before the buzzer, Team OMHA White made it even, Cameron Snow from Nolan Burke, Michael Tiveron.

Now in the third, Ty Collins scored for Team OMHA Black on the power play from Evan Vierling, Jake Murray.

Alec Belanger scored for Team OMHA Black, from Luc Reeve.

Extending the lead by two more, Ryan Smith scored for Team OMHA Black, the first an empty netter, unassisted. The second, from Evan Vierling, Ty Collins.

Players of the game were Cameron Snow for Team OMHA White and Evan Vierling for Team OMHA Black.

Quotes

“All these good hockey players coming together, they enjoyed it and that’s all that we wanted was for them to come together, have fun and remember the moment. So they are happy in there and that’s all that mattered,” said Paul Pascuzzi Head Coach for Team OMHA Black, directly following the game.

“I was here last year as well and this year you know with the amount of talent you are kind of overwhelmed. “It’s always fun to meet these guys, to get to know them, to see what kind of people they are off of the ice. When you see the respect level they have for the coaches, when you see them listening and you get it because they are just that good - they are ready to go to the next level. So it is always nice for me, it’s easy as a coach you talk to them; they buy in, they are looking at you, they want to learn and they soak it in. It’s always cool to be a part of it, always a fun event - just another great year,” said Pascuzzi, on his experience coaching.

“It feels great meeting all of these new guys. It was a lot of fun, like some of these guys you’re going to see down the road in your careers,” said Evan Vierling for Team OMHA Black. “So it was great and I had a blast.”

“It was a great experience when you have a group of 20 kids that are willing to learn and work hard, buy in and come together like that’s always a fun experience. It’s my second year doing it and its always just a good time – meeting new kids, seeing new faces and I am seeing a lot of really good skill. There is a lot of talented hockey players here and it was a great experience,” said Dave Demarinis Head Coach for Team OMHA White.

“It was great the teammates were great I had a lot of fun today, rooming with all of the guys and it was just a great experience,” said Cameron Snow for Team OMHA White.

Link to Game Recap: http://stats.pointstreak.com/scoreboard.html?leagueid=1605

Team OMHA White Roster: http://ohl-goldcup.wttstats.pointstreak.com/teamroster.html?teamid=601754

Team OMHA Black Roster: http://ohl-goldcup.wttstats.pointstreak.com/teamroster.html?teamid=601750

About the OHL Gold Cup

The OHL Gold Cup is an annual showcase event featuring top under-16 talent in Ontario. As part of the Hockey Canada Program of Excellence (POE), players competing at the OHL Gold Cup have an opportunity to be evaluated for invitation to the national under-17 development camp, where Hockey Canada gathers the top talent from across the country to introduce players to the national team program and provide a foundation of development as they progress through the POE.

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