Gold for U12 AA Jr. Hounds

By Randy Russon
February 20, 2023
Tweet

Share

ANN ARBOR, Michigan — They were the only Canadian team in the Under 12 AA Division at the Ursa Minor Big Bear Hockey Tournament that was held here on this long weekend. And the Soo U12 AA Jr. Greyhounds skated home with gold medal glitter following a frantic 3-2 triumph over the Saginaw U12 Jr. Spirit in today’s title tilt.

Trailing 2-0 in today’s golden pond thriller, the U12 AA Jr. Greyhounds rallied with three goals to take the Spirit out of Saginaw and hustle out of Ann Arbor with championship medals around their necks. Smooth-skating forward Ty Diluzio and dependable defensemen Rylan Gillson and Cohen Kellar scored for the Soo in support of goalie Lucas Martin. Martin held the fort in the third period after Gillson tied the game with a rocket of a right hand shot from the point and Kellar won it with a blue line blast of his own from the left side.

Prior to the championship match, head coach Ryan Corcoran and his ever-improving U12 AA Jr. Hounds posted a 2-0-1 record in the round robin portion of the tournament. The Red and White boys from the Soo began the tournament with two games on Saturday, scoring a 5-3 win over the Columbus Jr. Blue Jackets before battling to a 6-6 tie with Saginaw.

Then, on Sunday, the teams in the tournament each got to play a game at venerable Yost Arena, which is the home of the University of Michigan Wolverines, a prominent and illustrious Division 1, National Collegiate Athletic Association powerhouse. In the Soo game, the U12 AA Jr. Hounds rode the shutout goaltending of Owen Whitehead to a 3-0 win over the North Pittsburgh Wildcats to punch their ticket into today’s winner-take-all showdown with Saginaw.

Notably, Ann Arbor — and Yost Arena — is where Sault Ste. Marie’s Marty Turco spent his splendid four-year NCAA career with the U of M Wolverines before going on to a lengthy National Hockey League passage as a world class goalie with the Dallas Stars.

Members of the U12 AA Jr. Hounds are, in alphabetical order, Hayden Brason-Doan, Charlie Corcoran, Riely Deplonty, Ty Diluzio, Rylan Gillson, Cohen Kellar, Lucas Martin, Daniel McNally, Carson Mick, Kadin Micomonaco, Ethan Myers, Ashlyn Rickard, Walker Toms, William Watts, Owen Webb, Matais Wellwood-Pulkinen and Owen Whitehead. Coaches are Ryan Corcoran, Chris Kellar, Jason Webb, Damian Micomonaco and Jeff Toms. Team managers are Jenn Deplonty and Kenny Deplonty.