What better way to ring in the New Year than with 302 games over a three-day span? That’s how the GTHL welcomed players, coaches and hockey families back to the rink after a nine-day holiday break. A total of 87 games were contested on Friday, 94 on Saturday and another 121 on Sunday.
Minor Midget AAA
The final weekend of the Minor Midget AAA regular season saw the Toronto Titans earn a pair of victories to leapfrog the Don Mills Flyers (into first place in the division. The Titans stretched their winning streak to eight games with 6-0 and 6-4 wins over the Mississauga Rebels and Toronto Red Wings, respectively.
The Flyers also defeated the Rebels (6-4) in their lone weekend matchup.
The Titans host the Flyers tonight (Monday, Jan. 5) at 9:25 PM at Buckingham Arena 1. The Flyers have only one other game remaining (Friday vs. Toronto Marlboros) while the Titans host the Markham Majors on Wednesday and close their season Thursday against the Red Wings.
If the Flyers and Titans are tied in points at the end of the regular season, they will play a one-game tiebreaker to decide first place.
The Marlboros outscored their opponents 13-0 over the weekend to remain one point behind the third-place Toronto Jr. Canadiens, who earned a lopsided 9-1 victory on Sunday. Both clubs have three games remaining.
Check out the Week 7 rankings for the 2015 OHL Cup.
Other finals from Minor Midget AAA action:
Toronto Young Nationals 5, Toronto Red Wings 1
Mississauga Reps 2, North York Rangers 0
Vaughan Kings 4, Markham Majors 2
Bantam A East
The first-place Toronto Aeros kept their undefeated record in tact with 5-0 and 3-1 wins over the West Hill Golden Hawks and North Toronto, respectively.
With a 5-0 win over the Goulding Park Rangers on Friday, the Scarborough Ice Raiders (20-6-3, 43 points) moved within three points of the idle Willowdale Blackhawks (21-3-4, 46 points) for second place in the East division.
The Blackhawks are the only club with a shot at challenging the Aeros (28-0-2, 58 points) for first place. Willowdale sits 12 points back but have two games in hand (games remaining – WIL: 8, SIR: 7, TAE: 6).
Other finals from Bantam A East action:
Toronto Shamrocks 3, Leaside Flames 2
North Toronto 4, West Hill Golden Hawks 2
North York Knights 5, Toronto City Blues 1
Toronto Shamrocks 3, Ted Reeve Thunder 0
Peewee AA
The hunt for first place in the West division continues into the New Year as both the Mississauga Braves and Vaughan Panthers earned victories over the weekend. Both clubs are trying to catch the undefeated Streetsville Tigers (24-0-5, 53 points) for first place in the division.
The Braves won their lone contest 4-0 over the Humberview Huskies. The Panthers, meanwhile, played a weekend double-header, first defeating the Toronto Eagles 5-1 before earning a 5-2 victory over the Toronto Royals.
As the regular-season winds down, the playoff picture is heating up with a number of spots still up for grabs:
* The Duffield Devils picked up a 2-0 shutout against the Mississauga North Stars, the club they are battling for the club that currently holds the final playoff spot.
* The Etobicoke Canucks defeated the West Mall Lightning 2-1 to move within one point of the club for 10th place.
In the East, York Mills opened the New Year with a pair of wins (4-3 vs. Leaside Flames and 8-0 vs. Scarborough Young Bruins) to improve to 24-3-2 (50 points) this season and create five-point buffer for first place.
The second-place North York Knights did their part to keep pace, earning a 6-4 win over the Flames on Sunday evening. At 21-3-3 (45 points), the Knights have two games in hand on York Mills.
The Toronto Aeros earned a pair of wins (3-1 vs. West Hill Golden Hawks and 6-0 vs. Markham Islanders) to leapfrog the Flames into fifth place.
The eighth-place Toronto Shamrocks won their lone contest (3-0 vs. Hillcrest Canadiens) while the Willowdale Blackhawks also were victorious (4-2 vs. North Toronto) to keep pace for the final playoff spot.
Other finals from Peewee AA action:
Mississauga Jets 5, York Toros 1
Mississauga Terriers 6, Avalanche 0
Humberview Huskies 5, Toronto Wolverines 0
Mississauga Terriers 1, Ice Warriors 1
Toronto Eagles 5, Avalanche 0
Under-21 AAA
The Under-21 AAA schedule resumed Sunday with a four-game slate, including victories by the top two teams in the division.
The Mississauga Braves blanked the Ice Warriors 9-0 to pick up where they left off in 2014 and boost their first-place record to 19-4-3 (41 points). The Humberview Huskies also won their first game of 2015 with a 6-3 decision over the West Mall Lightning. With the victory, the Huskies (18-4-3, 39 points) two points behind the Braves; Humberview, however, has one game in hand.
The Toronto Colts also skated to a win on Sunday (7-4 vs. Goulding Park Rangers) to move within two points of the Lightning for third place. Toronto has played two fewer games than West Mall.
The Scarborough Young Bruins earned a 7-1 victory over the Toronto Aeros to strengthen their hold on sixth place and all but solidify the final playoff spot.
Visit our Games Centre page for all the scores and standings.
