Sun County Panthers Bring 2009 Championship Back To Canada
The Sun County Panthers — ranked No. 3 in Canada — scratched and clawed their way through the 2009 Division, emerging victorious with a 4-2-0 record.
After starting things off with a 4-3 win over Florida Alliance, the Panthers dropped a 3-2 decision to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Jr. Knights in their second game of Friday’s action.
Saturday started with another tough outing for Sun County, as the Mid-Fairfield Jr. Rangers beat them 6-3.
In the elimination rounds, however, Sun County sorted things out. First, they topped RSG Academy 3-2 in the quarterfinals. Then, in the semifinals, they were able to get some revenge, topping Mid-Fairfield 3-2 to advance to the finals.
A date with the United States’ No. 9 ranked Boston Jr. Eagles served as the 2009 Blue Division finale. There, the top-ranked Canadian team in the field tangled with a Top-10 U.S. team. Sun County played its most complete game of the weekend, blanking the hometown squad 3-0.
Sun County found success in Beantown with a balanced attack on offense. Standout forward Jaakko Wycisk recorded nine points in the team’s six games. He was the only player on the Panthers’ roster to register more than a point per game. Alexander Lisi recorded five goals and five total points, while Eamon Edgar had three points in the six games. Jordan Maine led the scoring from the blue line, leading the Panthers’ defensemen in scoring with three total points.
Daniel Cinelli took care of the majority of the crease duties; he registered a 1.75 goals-against average and one shutout over his four games.
Trevor Daley, Jr. led the ’09 Blue Division in scoring with 10 points in only five games, while the aforementioned Wycisk was second in the scoring race. Brady Scali of RSG Academy had eight points in only five games.
Five players had seven points — Don Mills Flyers forward Caiden Clair, Florida’s Harrison Hecker, Jr. Eagles’ Carter Meyer, Mid-Fairfield’s Braydon Sisco and Florida’s Reese Tracy.
Aside from Sun County’s Cinelli, Boston’s Daryn Szabo led the goaltenders with a 1.56 goals-against average and one shutout in six games played.
Szabo, and the Jr. Eagles, deserve an extra tip of the cap for running through a gauntlet of ranked teams on their way to the finals. Their tournament experience included three games against World Top-25 teams. It started with a 3-2 win over the No. 18 Toronto Marlboros. Then, the Jr. Eagles dropped their second game 3-1, against the No. 4 ranked Don Mills Flyers. On Saturday, Boston rebounded with a 4-0 win over No. 25 Windy City Storm and a 5-3 win over unranked Ottawa Myers Automotive in the quarters.
In the semifinal, they got revenge on Don Mills, taking down the top Canadian ’09 team by a final score of 4-1.
REFERENCE: https://worldhockeyhub.com/champs-from-exposure-cup/
