The London Junior Knights 99 AAA boys attended the Ontario Winter Games in Collingwood/Midland, Ontario this past weekend. The Games are a highly recognized, multi-sport competition that showcases some of Ontario's best amateur athletes.Athletes from the Games could progress to National Championships, Canada Games, Pan Am Games, Commonwealth Games, Olympic Games or World Championships! The 99 AAA team gained berth into the Games by finishing in 1st place overall in the Alliance regular season with 53 points.
The boys had an amazing experience during the games. They were provided the opportunity to grow as young adults and develop independent skills by having no parental supervision within the Athletes Quarters for the entire 4 days. The kids were assigned rooms in groups of 3 and did an outstanding job looking after themselves and making the London Junior Knights organization and the Alliance proud all weekend.
The tournament began with the boys being transported by bus from Midland to Collingwood to attend the outdoor Opening Ceremonies Thursday evening. It was a very cold and cool experience. The 99’s began play with a 3-1 win on Friday morning at 8am against the Oakville Rangers. Later Friday afternoon, the 99’s faced the Ottawa Silver Seven and once again were victorious 3-2. Saturday afternoon, the Junior Knights took on and defeated the Thunder Bay Kings 6-2, this victory secured 1st place in the pool with 3 Wins and 0 Losses and advanced the team to the Semi-Finals Saturday evening versus the 2nd place Brampton Battalion in Pool A. The Semi-Final was an amazing game! It took 3 regulation periods of 15 minutes, a sudden death 10 minute period and an additional 7:16 seconds of the 5th period before the Junior Knights scored to win 1-0 and gain berth in the finals against the Toronto Marlies who defeated the Ottawa Silver Seven 5-2 in the other semi.
The final between the Jr. Knights (Ranked 4th in Ontario) and the Marlies (Ranked 1st in Ontario) was another amazing contest. The Marlies opened the scoring just over 1 minute into the game. The remainder of the game was a demonstration of tight defense and incredibly outstanding goaltending! The Marlies added an empty net goal with 13 seconds remaining in the game to capture the Gold Medal. Congratulations to the London Junior Knights - Major Peewee AAA 99’s on capturing the Silver Medal and an overall terrific accomplishment!