2012 OHL Cup Quarter-Finals Results

Press Release

The 2012 Ontario Hockey League Cup Showcase Tournament hosted by the Greater Toronto Hockey League continued Saturday morning at the Hershey Centre in Mississauga, ON, with Quarter-Final action.

The Semi-Finals will take place Saturday evening at the Hershey Centre:
6:00 pm - Otawa Jr. 67's vs. Mississauga Rebels
8:00 pm - Ottawa Valley Titans vs. Toronto Marlboros

Quarter-Final Results:
QF4: Toronto Marlboros 5 vs. London Jr. Knights 1
The Toronto Marlboros continued their winning ways with a 5-1 win over the London Jr. Knights to pick up their fifth straight victory and a berth in the Semi-Finals.
The Marlies put the pressure on early and were rewarded with a goal just 10 seconds into the contest when Jeremiah Addison redirected a Joshua Ho-Sang shot that fooled Knights' goaltender Riley Brown for the lone goal of the first period.

Connor McDavid made it 2-0 at 3:37 of the second period with his tournament-best eighth goal finishing a nifty solo rush by sliding a shot five-hole from in close.  The Knights then ran into some penalty trouble and on the ensuing power play the Marlies made it 3-0 on Michael Cramarossa's first of the tournament.
Brett Seney's third goal of the tournament was the only marker for the Knights recorded in the second period. Connor Whiteside and Samuel Bennett added third period goals for the Marlies. Mathew Robson picked up the win in goal, with Brown suffering the loss.  Jared McCann led the Knights with 10 points in five tournament games.

The Marlies will face the Ottawa Valley Titans, a team they edged 2-1 in round-robin play.
“We have to be ready, go hard to the net and find a way to score," said Marlies' Player of the Game Samuel Bennett.  "We played them last night and won, their goalie is good, so is ours so it is important for us to find a way to score.”

The Marlies will be looking to make their sixth straight OHL Cup finals appearance.
“It is an honour to play for the Marlies in this tournament," added Bennett.  "They always do well and so many guys that have went on to play hockey at the next level have worn this logo.  I love being here; it’s a lot of fun especially with the amount of talented guys that are here."

Marlboros Player of the Game - Samuel Bennett (1G, 1A)
Knights Player of the Game - Ocean Check
Game Summary

QF3: Ottawa Valley Titans 3 vs. Vaughan Kings 2
The Ottawa Valley Titans won a nail-biter Saturday morning as they defeated the Vaughan Kings 3-2 to advance to the OHL Cup Semi-Final. Vaughan made a desperate last minute push to tie the game but the Titans defence and goalie Nicholas Hodgins scrambled to preserve the one goal lead and secure the victory.
The Titans jumped out to a 2-0 lead on goals by Owen McDade and Connor Cobbold. The Kings would bounce back in the third period and score two of their own on goals by Nikita Korostelev and Chad Burrows.

Tim McDonnell scored the game winner at the 8:05 mark of the third period to give the Titans the win.
“I was following the play, squared up to the net, heard coach yell rip it and I did,” McDonnell said in describing the game-winning play.

Goalie Nicholas Hodgins picked up the win for the Titans while Brandon Klerer took the loss for the Kings.  Michael Dal Colle finished the tournament with 11 points in five games to lead the Kings.
The Titans now look ahead to a round-robin rematch with the Toronto Marlies Saturday night and become the second ODMHA team to advance to the Semi-Finals.

“It’s awesome that both Ottawa Teams are playing well, we have been working hard on this all year and knew we could get here and played smart to get here," said McDonnell.  “It’s amazing.  This is a bar none tournament, I have meet so many people and have great memories that I know whether or not I move onto the next level in my hockey career I will remember this experience even 20 years from now.”
Titans Player of the Game - Kelly Summers (1A)
Kings Player of the Game - Nikita Korostelev (1G)
Game Summary

QF2: Ottawa Jr. 67's 4 vs. Elite Hockey 3 OT
Alexandre Renaud was the overtime hero for Ottawa at 3:58 of the extra frame to lift the undefeated Jr. 67's to a berth in the OHL Cup Semi-Finals by a 4-3 margin over Elite Hockey.  Renaud buried a pass from Player of the Game Andrew Abou-Assaly who circled behind the Elite goal and centred the puck to Renaud who one-timed it home.

“It was awesome to be on the ice, I got the puck halfway and wheeled around the net," Abou-Assaly said in describing the goal.  "I saw Alex come off the bench and fed the pass up the middle to him and he scored”
Abou-Assaly had tied the game at 5:51 of the third period with a blast from the top of the circle with his seventh of the tournament.  Elite Hockey led the game 3-2 after scoring three unanswered goals in the middle frame in a span of 5:23 to erase the 2-0 deficit.  Jack Dieber had a goal and an assist for the Elite squad as did James Anderson who led the club in tournament scoring with four goals and six assists.  Patrick White had the other two goals for the 67's scored both in the first period.  Joel Howard earned the win in goal, with Drew Hotte taking the loss.

Abou-Assaly, who has 15 points through five tournament games has been enjoying the tournament experience.  “I am soaking it up; it’s such a big stage to be on with a lot of talented boys.  It’s been great so far, but it is not just about me; I give a lot of credit to my teammates, they are a great bunch of guys and its them working hard, making passes that helps me to play well."

The 67's will face the Rebels in Semi-Final action Saturday night.

"Coaches told us to eat lunch, rest up and get ready to battle," Abou-Assaly added.  "We have played them once in the season and lost 2-1 in OT so we are looking to avenge that. It’s been a long time since an Ottawa team has won this tournament and we would love to bring the win home.”
67's Player of the Game - Andrew Abou-Assaly (1G, 2A)
Elite Player of the Game - Nathan Billitier (1G)
Game Summary

QF1: Mississauga Rebels 4 vs. Toronto Nationals 0
The Mississauga Rebels advanced to the semi-finals with a 4-0 victory over the Toronto Young Nats in the all-GTHL quarter-final game Saturday morning. Rebels’ goaltender Liam Herbst recorded his second shutout of the tournament and improved his personal record to 3-0 at the OHL Cup.

“It was a good game for us, we played well," Herbst said following the game.  "We worked hard and got the win.”

Nicholas Pastorius opened the scoring at the 5:39 mark of the first period on a pass from Damian Bourne. The Rebels would strike again when captain Robert Fabbri put the puck past Young Nats goalie Daniel Potter in the second period. Jake Evans would add an empty net power play goal to secure the win for the Rebels.

The Rebels have now won five straight tournament games and will look to carry that momentum into the smi-finals.

“Keep preparing like we usually do," Herbst said when talking about the Saturday night contest.  "We are focusing on playing well and working hard and for me it’s about one shot at time.  This has been a great experience so far, having a lot of fun with the team.  It is great that we are getting a second chance after losing in the GTHL Finals.”

Rebels Player of the Game - Liam Herbst (Goaltender)
Nationals Player of the Game - Brendan Shane
Game Summary

(Nathan can be reached at fourniern@students.nescom.edu)