Photo courtesy of the Oakland Jr. Grizzlies

Oakland Jr. Grizzlies 15O team wins prestigious Wendy Dufton Memorial Tournament in London, Ontario

By @MichaelCaples –

The Oakland Jr. Grizzlies 15-Only team ventured north of the border and came back with some hardware this weekend.

The OJG team won the Wendy Dufton Memorial Tournament in London, Ontario – one of the top AAA tournaments in Canada.

In a grueling eight-game stretch over four days, they posted seven wins and one tie, culminating in a three-game championship Sunday that ended with a 4-2 win in the title game against the host London Jr. Knights at 8:30 p.m.

Zion Green scored the game-winning goal in the final with 26 seconds remaining; OJG added an empty-netter to wrap things up.

“I’m very proud of our team,” said head coach Dan Riedel. “Eight games against extremely tough competition and our guys found a way. Our team is learning how to win in different ways. We’ve got great leadership and obviously good players, but we’re starting to buy into becoming a team. It’s a testament to the type of kids we have in our room and their families.

“Anytime you can go to Canada and win a tournament it’s special, for sure.”

Rutger McGroarty led the tournament in scoring with 13 points (11 goals, two assists) in the eight games. Hunter Brzustewicz posted nine points, the most of any defenseman.

Nathan Lewis recorded nine points, as well, while Landon Fleming and Brando Dantonio recorded six and Jonah Aegerter registered five.

Goaltender Trent Boryszczuk played in five of the contests for OJG, posting a 1.40 goals-against average with two shutouts. Rocco Stolz played in three, recording a 0.67 goals-against in the process.

Here are the game-by-game results:

 

Thursday

OJG 5, North Central Predators 0

 

Friday

OJG 2, Toronto Young Nationals 2

OJG 5, York Simcoe Express 0

 

Saturday

OJG 3, Windsor Spitfires 0

OJG 4, South Kent Academy 3

 

Sunday

OJG 5, Southern Tier Admirals 0

OJG 5, Mississauga Rebels 2

OJG 4, London Jr. Knights 2