Photo by Aaron Bell / OHL Images
The calendar keeps turning and the games keep coming. A total of 231 contests were played from Friday to Sunday.
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Midget A
An undefeated team sits atop the standings in both the East and West, with the Ted Reeve Thunder (13-0-1, 27 points) and Duffield Devils (11-0-1, 23 points) leading their respective divisions. The Thunder were idle over the weekend, but the Devils earned wins against the Humber Valley Sharks (3-2 W) and Amesbury Attack (4-3 W) to remain nearly flawless through a dozen games.
The Vaughan Rangers (5-7-1, 11 points) played also played twice over the weekend, first earning a 5-3 win against the East’s Markham Islanders before falling 8-4 to the Humber Valley Sharks.
North Toronto (10-2-3, 23 points) posted a 5-1 victory over the Scarborough Young Bruins to narrow the gap between first and second place in the East, moving within four points of the Thunder. The two teams meet Wednesday, Nov. 25 at 9:00 p.m. at North Toronto Memorial Arena.
The West Hill Golden Hawks (7-6-2, 16 points) and Leaside Flames (6-8-2, 14 points) also skated to victories on the weekend – against the Toronto Eagles (5-3 W) and Toronto Shamrocks (4-2 W), respectively – to keep pace in the East.
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Minor Atom AA
The gap between the first and second place teams in the East – the Leaside Flames (12-1-4, 28 points) and North Toronto (12-1-3, 27 points), respectively – is one point following a big weekend for both clubs.
On Friday, the Flames skated to a 6-1 victory over York Mills to push their win streak to four games and point streak to 10 games (8-0-2).
Over the next two days, North Toronto notched a pair of drastically different wins – a 1-0 decision against the West Hill Golden Hawks and 10-2 triumph over the Markham Islanders – to close in on the division lead.
The two teams meet Tuesday, Nov. 24 at 7:10 p.m. at Forest Hill/Larry Grossman arena.They played to a 1-1 draw in their first contest on Sept. 26.
Atop the 16-team West division are the Streetsville Tigers, who boosted their record to 14-2-1 (29 points) with a 3-1 decision against the Avalanche on Sunday.
Just four points back – and with two games in hand – are the Vaughan Rangers, who improved to 12-2-1 (25 points) on the heels of an 8-2 taming of the Humberview Huskies.
The Toronto Eagles (11-4-1, 23 points) also rolled past the Huskies (12-1 W) to maintain their hold on third place. Only one other club in the West is part of the 20-point club: the Mississauga Terriers (9-2-3, 21 points), who clawed their way up the standings with a 2-0 victory over the Toros and 1-1 draw with the Vaughan Panthers.
Other finals from Minor Atom AA weekend action:
East – Toronto Aeros 3, North York Knights 2
East – York Mills 5, Scarborough Young Bruins 1
West – Mississauga Braves 3, Avalanche 0
West – Mississauga North Stars 3, Toronto Eagles 1
West – Mississauga Braves 5, West Mall Lightning 1
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Minor Midget AAA
The race for the 2015-16 Kraft Cup is sure to have an exciting finish as five teams are within nine points of first place at the season’s midway mark. All five of those clubs earned at least one point over the weekend:
* At 14-2-1 (29 points), the Toronto Red Wings lead the pack after stretching their win streak to five games with a 2-1 decision over the Mississauga Reps on Friday.
The Red Wings, who hold an 8-1-1 mark in their past 10 outings, also lead the league with a 1.18 goals-against average. They have allowed more than two goals in a game only twice this season, losing both contests (4-2 L vs. Toronto Marlboros and 5-0 L vs. Mississauga Rebels).
* The Toronto Marlboros (13-3-1, 27 points) earned a 4-1 win over the Vaughan Kings to remain within two points of the Red Wings. The Marlboros have scored an average of 4.41 goals per game this season – tops in the league.
* Behind the Marlboros sit the Mississauga Rebels (9-3-5, 23 points), who pushed their point streak to seven games (4-0-3) following a pair of weekend contests. The Rebels skated to a 6-1 win over the Toronto Titans on Saturday before playing to a 2-2 tie with the Markham Majors (), the fifth place team.
* The Toronto Jr. Canadiens (10-5-1, 21 points) moved into fourth place with a 4-1 victory over the Titans. They have outscored opponents 18-2 in winning each of their last three contests.
* The Red Wings have the opportunity to pull further ahead of the pack, as each of their next three teams is against a top-five club:
Tuesday, Nov. 24 at Scotiabank Pond vs. Mississauga Rebels
Wednesday, Nov. 25 at Herb Carnegie Arena vs. Toronto Marlboros
Friday, Dec. 4 at Chesswood Arena vs. Toronto Jr. Canadiens
The top Minor Midget AAA players will compete in the Scotiabank GTHL Top Prospects Game on Tuesday, Dec. 15 at 7:30 p.m. at Scotiabank Pond.
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