Minor Bantam AAA Win London Tournament

The South Central Coyotes Minor Bantam AAA team captured the prestigious London Green and Gold AAA Hockey Tournament on October 16th capping an undefeated weekend of solid defensive hockey and impressive goaltending.

The Coyotes battled through day one of the round robin portion of the weekend with a 2-0 victory over top ranked Elgin Middlesex and a 2-1 win over the Halton Hurricanes. On day two, South Central continued its winning ways cruising past the Allan Park Huskies 4-1 in the morning game and winning a nail biter against Chatham 1-0 in the afternoon.

On championship Sunday, the Coyotes defeated the Niagara Rivermen 4-0 in the morning semi-final to earn a birth in the final against the home-town London Jr. Knights. After a scoreless first period, a key power play at the 13-minute mark of the second period paved the way for forward Luca Nigro to score the eventual game winner as he tipped in the a point shot past London's goalie. The game ended 1-0 for South Central. The team finished the tournament with an impressive 14 goals for and only two against.

"The challenge for us all weekend was to stay committed to our game plan by focusing on the little things like blocking shots and finishing our checks," said coach Mike De Pellegrin. "Excelling at the defensive side of the game is never easy for players at this level, but it was the key to our success. The boys deserve a lot of credit".Members of the team include, Franco Zuccato, Walter Scullion, Jordan Sambrook, Jacob LePalme, Andrew Colangelo, Landon Boothby, Brendan Browne, Darius Dimitriadis, Brendan Yawney, Ryan Franz, Luca Nigro, Brandan Sutch, Cameron Wright, Kyle Gentles, Porter Greatrex, Luke Square, & Sheldon Nolan. The team is coached by Mike De Pellegrin & Paul Santi, team trainer David Forbes & manager Debi Gentles.