The
Eastern Ontario Wild major ban-tam AAA team has advanced
to the provincial championships after sweeping past the
Ottawa Jr. 67s in the Hockey East Ontario (HEO) finals in
four straight games.
The Wild
won the first three games 9-2, 4-0 and 5-1 and then clinched
the title in emphatic fashion with a 10-0 win in Game 4.
After
amassing an impressive 33-2-1 record on their way to winning
the minor bantam championship last year, the Wild totally
dominated the rest of the HEO this past season going undefeated
in 38 games. Even when you include the four losses, they
still managed to compile a 64-4-4 record.
But all
that goes out the window as they prepare to take on the
best bantam teams from across the province in the All Ontario
Championships which are being held in Toronto from April
1-6.
For the
Wild to make it out of the round robin portion of the tournament
and into the playoffs, they will need to continue to get
significant production from the dynamic duo of Cedric Guindon
and David Goyette who both have more than 50 goals and 100
points so far this season � and that doesn't include tournament
action.
In 37
regular season and payoff games, Guindon scored 61 goals
and added 56 assists for a total of 117 points, while Goyette
has 53 goals and 64 assists in 38 games. A third player,
Brayden Bowen, scored 32 goals and added 53 assists in 38
games.
During
the regular season, the Wild scored a total of 247 goals,
135 more than their closet rivals. They also gave up a league
least 43 goals, which is half as many as the next team.
That's a goals for and against record of plus 204, which
works out to more than six goals per game.
The man
responsible for harnessing the players' immense talents
is veteran head coach John Robillard who is retiring once
the season is over after spending the better part of 25
years behind the bench, most of which were spent with the
Gloucester Rangers organization.
The team's
success on the ice this year carried over to the recent
CCHL bantam draft during which every player on the roster
was picked up.
Bowen
and Goyette were selected third and fourth overall by the
Cornwall Colts and the Hawkesbury Hawks respectively, and
Guindon was selected 11th overall by the Rockland Nationals.
The first
Orléans area player to be drafted was defenceman Cedricson
Okitundu who was selected 34th overall by the Navan Grads
in the fourth round.
Fellow
Orléans prospects Chrisitan Berini (21st - Rockland); Nicolas
White (38th - Rockland); Liam Hunter (46th - Navan); and
Ethan Shore (50th - Rockland) were also selected.
(This
story was made possible thanks to the generous support of
our local business partners.)
THE OTTAWA SCHOOL OF THEATRE presents an all ages production of Treasure Island in the Richcraft Theatre at the Shenkman Arts Centre. Showtimes Thursday, April 18 and Friday, April 19 at 6:30 p.m. and Saturday, April 20 and Sunday, April 21 at 1:30 p.m. Tickets $20 for adults. Students and youth 25 and under $10. To purchase visit 
TAPROOM 260 presents Michael Ben-Shalom live from 8-11 p.m. at 260 Centrum Blvd. For more information visit 
TAPROOM 260 presents The Underground live from 8-11 p.m. at 260 Centrum Blvd. For more information visit 
CLASSIC PIANO RECITAL – Orléans pianist Emily Hou will be performing works by Chopin, Mozart, Rachmaninov and Liszt at Kanata United Church as part os the Beaverbrook Community Concert Series. The recital will start promptly at 3 p.m. Kanata United Church is located at 33 Leacock Dr. in Kanata. For more information visit 
THE ORLÉANS BREWING CO. Trivia Night from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Call (613) 834-9005 to reserve your spot. The Orléans Brewing Co. is located at 4380 Innes Rd. near the Innes Road McDonalds.
