A relatively light weekend in the GTHL saw 207 games played, with more than half contested on Sunday (105 GP).
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Atom A
The early-season “Beast of the East” title goes to North Toronto, after the club powered its way to a 10-1 victory over the Ted Reeve Thunder to improve to 7-0-0 (14 points). Last year at the Minor Atom A level, North Toronto captured the Kraft Cup after finishing the regular-season at 28-3-5 (61 points).
While they are the only Atom A club with a perfect record this season, North Toronto’s opposition isn’t letting them run away with another Kraft Cup just yet.
The Goulding Park Rangers blanked the West Hill Golden Hawks 3-0 for their fifth consecutive victory, improving to 6-2-0 (12 points) through eight contests. The Leaside Flames (6-1-0, 12 points), who are idle until Friday vs. Ted Reeve (7:10 p.m. at Leaside Arena), also have 12 points and own the second-best goals-against average (0.86 GAA) behind North Toronto (0.57 GAA).
Action in the West saw the Vaughan Rangers (6-1-0, 12 points) – last year’s Minor Atom A Kraft Cup champion – blank the Humberview Huskies 6-0 for their second consecutive shutout. The Rangers have outscored opponents 14-0 in back-to-back wins since suffering their only loss of the season on Oct. 5 against the rival Vaughan Panthers (6-0-1, 13 points).
Hot on the heels of the Vaughan clubs are the Toronto Royals, who improved to 3-2-3 (9 points) after earning a 2-1 victory over the Duffield Devils and a 4-4 tie with the Toronto Wolverines.
The West Mall Lightning and Humber Valley Sharks also earned weekend victories to pull even in the standings at 3-3-1 (7 points).
Other finals from Atom A weekend action:
West – West Mall Lightning 6, Avalanche 1
West – Humber Valley Sharks 5, Toronto Wolverines 0
West – Humber Valley Sharks 3, Duffield Devils 1
East – North York Knights 7, West Hill Golden Hawks 2
East – Markham Islanders 8, Scarborough Ice Raiders 1
East – Don Mills Mustangs 5, Toronto Aeros 0
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Midget Jr. AA
The Goulding Park Rangers (5-2-1, 11 points) started the weekend with their sights set on a fifth consecutive victory but instead settled for one point against the North York Knights, earning a 4-4 tie to maintain their hold on second place in the East.
The Rangers will have a chance to pull even with the first-place East Enders Ticats (6-0-1, 13 points) when the two teams meet Wednesday at Herb Carnegie Arena (9:30 p.m.).
On Friday at Vic Village, the Toronto Aeros skated to a 3-1 win over North Toronto to pick up their first win of the season. The club then dropped its Sunday contest 4-1 to the Greater Toronto Capitals, who improved to 5-3-0 (10 points).
In the West, the Mississauga Terriers defeated the Mississauga Braves 5-3 to earn their fourth straight win and pull even with the idle Vaughan Rangers atop the division. Both teams are 5-1-0 (10 points) through six outings.
A closely contested battle at Vaughan Sports Village on Sunday saw the host Vaughan Panthers emerge with a 3-2 victory over the Streetsville Tigers. The clubs are tied for fourth place in the division with seven points, but the Panthers own three games in hand (Panthers: 3-2-1; Tigers: 3-5-1).
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Minor Peewee AAA
The Toronto Jr. Canadiens and Don Mills Flyers have enjoyed successful starts to the 2015-16 season, as both teams remain undefeated through seven games (6-0-1, 13 points).
The Jr. Canadiens posted their second consecutive shutout – and fifth this season – in a 5-0 win over the Mississauga Reps on Sunday. The club has allowed only five goals against this season, with four of those tallies surrendered in a tie with the Toronto Marlboros on Oct. 9.
Meanwhile, the Flyers soared to back-to-back wins on the weekend, blanking the Toronto Titans 3-0 on Saturday and dethroning the Vaughan Kings 5-2 on Sunday. Don Mills owns a 1.29 goals-against average, second in the League behind the Jr. Canadiens (0.71 GAA).
After going three straight games without a win (0-2-1), the Markham Majors earned their second consecutive victory on Sunday, defeating the Mississauga Senators 4-2 at Thornhill Centre. The Majors will look to continue their streak this week in a home-and-home set against the Reps on Wednesday (7:25 p.m. at Westwood) and Friday (7:10 p.m. at Scotiabank Pond).
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