Team Ontario into World U-17 playoff round

NEWS RELEASES

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE

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Ontario heads to Semis after 4-2 Win over Pacific

For the fourth straight year Team Ontario will compete in the semi-finals of the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge.

Ontario will face Quebec Monday night in semi-final action in Winnipeg following a 4-2 win over Team Pacific on Sunday night to close out round-robin action with a 4-0 record as the top seed in Group B. Quebec (3-1) is the second seed in Group A after falling 5-2 to the United States.

After trailing 1-0 after the first period, Team Ontario scored four unanswered goals in the second period to earn the win.

Brendan Gaunce of the Belleville Bulls was named Player of the Game with two goals including Ontario's first goal scored just 24 seconds into the period.

Matthew Finn of the Guelph Storm and Matia Marcantuoni of the Kitchener Rangers scored the other two goals for Team Ontario. Scott Laughton of the Oshawa Generals tallied two assists.

Belleville Bulls prospect Daniel Altshuller continued his perfect run in goal with 15 saves to earn his fourth straight win.

The gold medal game on Tuesday, January 4 will be broadcast on TSN/RDS, the official broadcaster of Hockey Canada. In addition, the three placement games and two semifinals on Monday, as well as Tuesday’s bronze medal game, will be available via webcast for $7 per game through FASTHockey at hockeycanada.fasthockey.com.

Following the conclusion of the preliminary round, the tournament all-star team was announced which includes two Team Ontario players. Choices for the all-star team were based on preliminary round performance.

2011 WORLD UNDER-17 HOCKEY CHALLENGE ALL-STAR TEAM

Goal – Daniel Altshuller (Ontario/Belleville Bulls Prospect) Defence – Seth Jones (United States) Defence – Derrick Pouliot (West) Forward – Andreas Athanasiou (Ontario / London Knights) Forward – Nicolas Kerdiles (United States) Forward – Hunter Shinkaruk (Pacific)

The World Under-17 Hockey Challenge brings together the top players in the world born in 1994 or later. The under-17 program is the first step in Hockey Canada’s Program of Excellence. Many players who compete at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge go on to represent Canada with the National Men’s Under-18 Team, National Junior Team and National Men’s Team.

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Ontario Downs West 4-3 at WU17

Team Ontario clinched a berth in the semi-finals of the 2011 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge with a 4-3 win over the host Team West Saturday night at the MTS Iceplex in Winnipeg, MB.

The win improved Ontario's tournament record to 3-0 with a final round-robin showdown to be played Sunday night against Team Pacific, who also carries a 3-0 record.

Ontario continued to spread out the scoring on Saturday with Brody Silk of the Sudbury Wolves putting the team on the board early with the opening goal scored just 15 seconds into the contest.

Team West, which consists of Canadian born players from Manitoba and Saskatchewan and includes 13 players from the WHL, scored two unanswered goals to take a 2-1 lead after the first period.

In the second, Andreas Athanasiou of the London Knights and Player of the Game Jesse Graham of the Niagara IceDogs each scored to put Ontario back on top. Chris Marchese of the Erie Otters recorded assists on both goals to give him a team-high six points in three games.

Team Ontario captain Matia Marcantuoni of the Kitchener Rangers found the back of the net just 1:24 into the third period for the game-winner.

Belleville Bulls prospect Daniel Altshuller made 29 saves in goal for his third victory of the tournament.

The West outshot Ontario 32-28.

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