Bantam A ('97), U14-U15 Travel, 2011-2012 (St. Thomas Minor Hockey)

It was a fitting ending to an exciting, tension-filled series.  Game 5 of the O.M.H.A. Bantam "A" Championships between the St. Thomas Jr. Stars and the Oshawa Jr. Generals was played Saturday afternoon at the venerable Memorial Arena in St. Thomas.  With the score knotted at 3-3 midway through the third period, Andrew Baxter placed himself into the position where he always likes to be... in the spotlight.  Much to the delight of all Stars' fans, the player formerly known as Li'l Baxter unleashed an incredible snap shot, off his back foot and from a sharp angle, high over the glove of ...

The Major Bantam Jr. Stars rebounded from a sobering 4-1 opening game defeat on Saturday evening, to outlast the Oshawa Jr. Generals 6-4 on Sunday afternoon.  Sporting an impressive a 10-1 record in O.M.H.A. playdown games and riding a six game winning streak, the Jr. Stars had every reason to feel confident heading into series opener at the the Legends arena in Oshawa on Saturday.  However, the Stars found themselves behind 1-0 less than a minute into the game and, appearing tired and nervous, they could never find their stride against a very deep and competitive Generals team.  

The St. Thomas Bantam Jr. Stars played three strong games, and even mixed in some team discipline, to dominate the Centre Wellington Fusion and sweep the three game O.M.H.A. semi final series.  While the game scores may not be supportive of the usage of the verb, the Stars clearly controlled the play throughout every game and but for the heroics of Fusion goaltending, the scores could have significantly more lopsided. Powered by some newfound scoring prowess by Jesse Tottle and a well-oiled power play, the Jr. Stars outscored Wellington Centre 9-2 in the three-game series.

The Bantam Jr. Stars opened their O.M.H.A. quarterfinal series against the Grimsby Peach Kings this past weekend with a disappointing 3-1 home ice loss on Friday night.  However, the Stars were able to regroup and take both the Saturday afternoon game in Grimsby as well as the Sunday afternoon game back home at the Timken Centre.  The Stars will now take a 2-1 series lead back to Grimsby this Saturday afternoon with aspirations of finishing off the gritty Peach Kings and moving on to what is shaping up to be a semi-final re-match against last year's opponent, the Woolwich Wildcats.    

The host St. Thomas Bantam Jr. Stars advanced to the O.M.H.A. quarterfinals by going undefeated in the Preliminary Round Tournament held this weekend at the Timken Centre.  The Stars outscoring their opposition by a combined score of 17-7 over the four game tournament on way to defeating the scrappy Essex Ravens, the self-proclaimed pre-tournament favourite Riverside Rangers, and the very underrated Amherstburg Stars twice.