First place for U15 AA Hounds
Soo Jr. Greyhounds of the Nickel District Minor Hockey League’s under 15 AA division are preparing to head to Kapuskasing for regional playoffs on the March 25-27 weekend. At stake for coach Jerry Lortie’s U15 Hound pups is a spot at the Ontario Hockey Federation championship tournament that is slated for April 22-24 in North York.
And Lortie has a good idea of what his team has to do for it to come away from Kapuskasing with the Northern Ontario Hockey Association regional title.
“If this team goes to Kap and does what they need to do to be successful then we have a good chance to be playing (for a championship),” Lortie told Hockey News North. “That is, they have to go and compete for three periods. Our success generates from playing fast and moving pucks.”
The U15 AA Jr. Greyhounds finished atop the seven-team, NDMHL standings with a record of 19-5-0. Carter Huckson of the Soo led the league in scoring while line mate Sammy Caruso was the NDMHL assist leader. Teammates Ethan Agawa and Logan Dearing were also among the top scorers in the league.
A quiet, unassuming individual who knows the game extremely well but doesn’t make it about himself, Lortie is a players coach who learned a lot about hockey and how to teach it from his dad, the late Gerry (Pops) Lortie. An esteemed local minor hockey coach of many years, Pops Lortie also had a successful run as bench boss of the old Northern Michigan Black Bears of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League from 2004 to 2006.
Like father like son. A winning combination. This complement was sponsored by the Alta Vista Coach Lortie’s vacation paradise ??????
Great coach who is in it for the kids.