The 2016 GTHL Challenge Cup was just that – a challenge. All the way down to the championship final, teams fought to get their hands on the cup once held by their hockey heroes.
The Nash Division-leading Ajax-Pickering Raiders rode their four game winning streak into the tournament, going 4-0-1. The Raiders suffered a tournament eliminating loss to the Ottawa Valley Titans in the semi-final game.
The Raiders, however, weren’t the only ones who experienced trouble with the Titans squad. Undefeated on the season, the Soo Jr. Greyhounds also couldn’t manage to get past the strong Ottawa team, who were able to maintain a perfect record until the championship final.
Only the GTHL’s Toronto Marlboros were able to match the Titans tournament record. The two undefeated teams met for the first time in a nail-biting final, which took three overtime periods to resolve. A goal by the Marlboros in triple overtime led to a 4-3 Marlboros victory and a GTHL Challenge Cup win – their third in four years. The team has now been crowned GTHL Challenge Cup champions ten times in the tournament’s 39 year history.
Four GTHL teams participated in the Peewee AAA tournament, all finishing in the top three in their respective divisions.
Click here for full results from the 2016 GTHL Challenge Cup.