Soo Indians headed to Detroit
Soo Indians have advanced to the Michigan Amateur Hockey Association major midget state championships, which begin next week in the Detroit suburb of Taylor.
Playing on the road on the weekend, coach Pat Carricato and his Soo squad overcame a one-game-to-none deficit with two straight wins to defeat the Lansing Capitals in a qualifying series for the MAHA state playdowns.
Canadian Soo boys Frankie Pucci and Andrew Barbeau played major roles for the Indians in the weekend series.
Pucci, a 1997 birth-year forward and Ontario Hockey League draft pick of the Erie Otters, scored both goals in a 2-1 Indians win in Game 2. The little pucker then had a pair of assists in the series-clincher, a 3-1 triumph.
And Barbeau, a hard-nosed, 1997 birth-year defenceman who is the Indians captain, saved some offence for the deciding game with a goal and an assist.
Others who factored in a scoring way for the Indians were 1997 birth-year forward Cole Lussier and 1998 birth-year forwards Ashton Calder and Casey Gilling.
Calder and Gilling are both on the radar for the 2014 OHL draft.
And backstopping the Indians to victory was the elder statesman of the team, 1995 birth-year goalie Jared Sauve.