It’s one of the best hockey rivalries in eastern Ontario. For decades, intermediate, senior, junior and minor hockey teams from Kingston and Belleville have squared off for district supremacy. Another chapter in this heated battle begins this weekend for the 15-year-old boys.
The Kingston AA Minor Midget Canadians face off against the Belleville Bulls in a best-of-five affair. It is the opening round of the Ontario Minor Hockey Association, Lakeshore League playoffs.
“We’ve had a lot of success in the regular season and were hoping to do well in the playoffs,” says Canadians defenceman Ben King.
Kingston finished in first place in the Lakeshore League standings. The Bulls were fourth. The Canadians won two of three games they played against each other this season.
King says they need to show up, ready to play: “Anybody can beat anybody on any given night so it’s our job to show up and play the way were capable of playing. If we do that for three games we should be okay.”
Canadians captain Jakob Leonard concurs: “Finishing in first place doesn’t mean anything unless you do well in the post-season. We’ve got a strong team this year and hope to go deep into the playoffs. Were hyped up for this series because they beat us last week 4-0, snapping our 23-game unbeaten streak.”
Coached by Brian Begbie and Alex Forsythe, the Canadians posted a solid record of 20-2-5.
The series opener will be played on Friday night at the Invista Centre. Game time is 7:30 p.m. Then it’s back to Belleville for game 2 on Sunday, Feb. 4, at the Wally Dever Arena at 5 p.m.
Comments