by John Humphrey
The Lakeshore Canadiens have won once and lost once in their first two games in the 2023 Schmalz Cup Final Four Tournament.
The Canadiens, who won their fifth Schmalz Cup in franchise history at the University of Guelph last May, earned the right to defend their title by winning their second straight Provincial Junior Hockey League Western Conference championship with a four-game sweep of the Thamesford Trojans last month.
The Schmalz Cup is awarded to the Provincial Junior Hockey League champion team. Last season the PJHL held its first-ever round robin tournament as a result of Covid protocols and once again the tournament consists of a round robin portion where all four teams play one game at home and another on the road before playing a third game at the tournament host facility in order to determine seeding for the championship portion of the tournament. Having already played their home and road games in this season’s final four, the Canadiens’ next contest will be Friday against the Clarington Eagles at the Woodstock District Community Complex.
In addition to the Canadiens, the 2023 PJHL Schmalz Cup Final Four Championship Tournament features the Eastern Conference champion Eagles, who lost to Lakeshore 3-2 in the 2022 Schmalz Cup title game, and the North Conference champion Wellesley Applejacks. The Stayner Siskins, champions of the PJHL’s South Conference, round out the tournament teams.
Marco Sladoje scored twice and Romano Liburdi made 24 saves as the Canadiens defeated the Applejacks 4-1 at the Atlas Tube Centre on Saturday, May 6. Bryce Scarlett and Liam Sinasac notched the other goals for Lakeshore. Evan Silvera scored the only goal while Noah Bender made 31 saves for the Applejacks
The following afternoon the Canadiens took to the road to take on the Stayner and dropped a 4-2 decision at the Stayner Memorial Arena. Gavin Mikaczo scored twice and Ty Allen and Ethan Allair both added single markers for the home squad while Matthew Herniman and Spencer Higginbottom replied for the Canadiens.
Derek Hartley made 29 saves to pick up the win in net for the Siskins while Nicholas Bolton made 24 stops for the Canadiens.
The tournament now shifts to Woodstock to wrap up round-robin play on Friday before Saturday’s semifinals and Sunday’s championship game. Lakeshore will face Clarington on Friday in the Canadiens’ final round-robin game while Wellesley will take on Stayner. All four teams are heading to Woodstock with a win and a loss.
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