PHOTO: Charlie Mackie of the Minor Midget AAA Toronto Marlboros (AARON BELL / OHL IMAGES)
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The end of the Kraft Cup regular-season looms after 218 contests were finalized over the weekend. The Minor Midget AAA division will be the first to wrap up, on Saturday, Jan. 23.
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Bantam A
With only one loss on the season, the Leaside Flames (24-1-2, 50 points) should feel fairly confident about their ability to wrap up the Kraft Cup. They own a six-point lead on the Willowdale Blackhawks (22-5-0, 44 points) with only nine games remaining.
The final playoff spot in the West, however, is very much an open race, with three teams within three points of the No. 8 seed. The Ted Reeve Thunder (10-13-5, 25 points) currently hold that position following a 2-1 victory over the No. 5-ranked West Hill Golden Hawks (15-9-3 33 points) on Sunday.
The Toronto Colts (10-14-4, 24 points) kept pace the Thunder following a weekend victory of their own, a 4-0 shutout against the Scarborough Ice Raiders. The Colts currently hold the No. 9 seed, one point back of the Thunder and two points ahead of the No. 10-ranked Markham Islanders (9-14-4, 22 points).
The top eight teams in the 14-team division will make the Scotiabank GTHL Playoffs.
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The West is shaping up to have a two-team race to the finish for first place after the West Mall Lightning (22-2-4, 48 points) and Vaughan Panthers (21-2-4, 46 points) both posted two wins on the weekend.
The Lightning, who currently sit atop the standings, improved to 7-0-3 in their last 10 contests after posting wins over the Toronto Royals (3-1 W) and Humberview Huskies (6-1 W).
The Panthers, who hold one game in hand on the Lightning, posted wins over the Humber Valley Sharks (11-2 W) and Vaughan Rangers (4-0 W). They have posted at least one point in each of their last 10 outings (8-0-2).
Vaughan’s last defeat was against West Mall on Nov. 29 (2-1 L). In fact, the Lightning lead the season series with a 2-1-1 record (VAR: 1-2-1). They meet one more time in the regular-season, on Feb. 10 at Pinepoint (7:40 p.m.).
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Other finals from Bantam A weekend action:
East – Hillcrest Canadiens 4, Toronto Shamrocks 1
East – Willowdale Blackhawks 4, Toronto Shamrocks 3
East – North York Knights 4, Forest Hill 4
East – Willowdale Blackhawks 5, Goulding Park Rangers 1
East – North Toronto 6, Forest Hill 1
East – North Toronto 2, Markham Islanders 0
West – Vaughan Rangers 3, Toronto Royals 0
West – Toronto Wolverines 2, Humber Valley Sharks 2
West – Avalanche 6, Toronto Eagles 0
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Minor Peewee AA
The Vaughan Rangers (16-6-3, 35 points) picked up four points on the weekend to gain ground in the race to win the Kraft Cup. The Rangers snapped a three-game winless streak (0-2-1) with wins over the Ice Warriors (5-1 W) and Mississauga Terriers (4-0 W).
Overall, there are five teams within 10 points of tying the Mississauga Braves (20-4-3, 43 points) for first place: the Rangers, Toronto Eagles (18-6-2, 38 points), Vaughan Panthers (16-5-3, 35 points), West Mall Lightning (14-6-6, 34 points) and Terriers (16-8-1, 33 points).
The Braves maintain a five-point lead over the Eagles – the next-closest team – despite a tie in their weekend matchup against the Humber Valley Sharks (1-1 T).
The Lightning climbed ahead of the Terriers following a 4-2 victory over the Sharks on Friday.
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In the East, York Mills also picked up key points on the weekend to create space in the race for the final playoff spot. York Mills extended its winning streak to five games with a 2-1 win over the Ted Reeve Thunder (18-7-4, 40 points) and a 3-1 decision against the Willowdale Blackhawks (8-17-3, 19 points). Both victories were impressive in that the Thunder currently hold the No. 3 seed and the Blackhawks are one of the teams chasing York Mills for the No. 8 position.
The Goulding Park Rangers (22-4-2, 46 points) posted a 4-0 win over the North York Knights to move within four points of tying the idle Scarborough Young Bruins (24-2-2, 50 points) for first place.
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Other finals from Minor Peewee AA weekend action:
West – Humberview Huskies 2, Mississauga North Stars 1
West – Streetsville Tigers 9, Toronto Wolverines 1
West – Streetsville Tigers 2, Duffield Devils 2
West – Avalanche 3, Mississauga Jets 0
East – West Hill Golden Hawks 2, North Toronto 0
East – North Toronto 2, Don Mills Mustangs 2
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Atom AAA
Only two games were contested in Atom AAA over the weekend – the Don Mills Flyers blanked the Markham Majors 4-0 and the Vaughan Kings skated to an 8-2 victory over the North York Rangers.
With the win, the Flyers moved into the No. 7 seed in a division where teams Nos. 5-8 are separated by only three points, and the No. 9 seed is within striking distance:
5. Toronto Jr. Canadiens: 11-9-5 (27 points) – 8 GR
6. Mississauga Reps: 10-11-6 (26 points) – 6 GR
7. Don Mills Flyers: 12-14-2 (26 points) – 5 GR
8. Toronto Red Wings: 10-12-4 (24 points) – 7 GR
9. Mississauga Senators: 7-12-5 (19 points) – 9 GR
The Kings’ victory helped them create distance ahead of the back listed above, though they are still well back of the top three clubs, who also are separated by three points:
1. Toronto Young Nationals: 22-4-0 (44 points) – 7 GR
2. Toronto Marlboros: 20-1-3 (43 points) – 9 GR
3. Toronto Titans: 19-2-3 (41 points) – 9 GR
4. Vaughan Kings: 15-7-3 (33 points) – 8 GR
^ GR = Games Remaining
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Minor Midget AAA
As we begin the final week of the Minor Midget AAA regular-season, the Kraft Cup is still up for grabs.
The first-place Toronto Marlboros (25-4-2, 52 points) control their own fate following weekend wins over the Vaughan Kings (6-3 W) and North York Rangers (5-0 W). Toronto needs only two points in their remaining two games to at least earn a spot in the one-game tiebreaker.
The Mississauga Rebels (22-3-6, 50 points) also defeated the Kings on the weekend to stay in the race for top spot, while the Toronto Red Wings stayed in the hunt with 8-0 and 6-2 victories over the Rangers and Toronto Young Nationals, respectively.
All three teams in the running have two games remaining:
Wednesday, Jan. 20 at 9:30 p.m. (Thornhill Centre)
Toronto Marlboros at Markham Majors
Thursday, Jan. 21 at 9:15 p.m. (Iceland)
Mississauga Rebels vs. Toronto Young Nationals
Friday, Jan. 22 at 9:05 p.m. (Etobicoke Ice Sports)
Toronto Marlboros vs. Toronto Young Nationals
Friday, Jan. 22 at 9:15 p.m. (Chesswood)
Toronto Red Wings vs. Markham Majors
Saturday, Jan. 23 at 3:00 p.m. (Herb Carnegie)
Toronto Red Wings at North York Rangers
Saturday, Jan. 23 at 4:50 p.m. (Scarborough Ice Sports)
Mississauga Rebels at Toronto Titans
Other finals from Minor Midget AAA weekend action:
Toronto Jr. Canadiens 6, Markham Majors 3
Markham Majors 2, Don Mills Flyers 2
Mississauga Reps 4, Toronto Titans 1
Toronto Jr. Canadiens 3, Mississauga Senators 3
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