Local lad lifts EL Wings
Alex Antoine has the potential to be an impact player for his hometown Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League team. A 2003 birth year forward, Antoine is among the scoring leaders for the Elliot Lake Red Wings.
The 5-foot-11, 185 pound Antoine has played in all 38 of Elliot Lake’s games this season and has produced 12 goals, nine assists, 21 points for the Red Wings, who are a first year NOJHL franchise under the leadership of managing director Paul Noad, general manager Mark Savery and head coach Tanner Bowditch.
The 26-year old Bowditch, a former NOJHL standout as well from his 2014 to 2016 playing days in the league, took over as the bench boss in Elliot Lake a few games into this season. And Bowditch, who had apprenticed as an assistant coach with both the Cochrane Crunch of the NOJHL and the Renfrew Wolves of the Central Canada Hockey League under Ryan Leonard, likes what Elliot Lake has in local lad Antoine.
“Alex is an incredibly talented kid with a nose for the net. He has got all the tools and when he decides to turn it on, he can dominate games,” Bowditch told Hockey News North. “He has got the potential to be a really special player for us over the next few years.”
In a recent game, Antoine scored three goals as the Red Wings edged the French River Rapids 5-4 to solidify their hold on the fifth and final playoff spot over the Espanola Express in the West Division of the NOJHL with 23 points from a record of 11-26-1.
Antione, who played in the Great North Under 18 Hockey League with both the Sudbury Minor Wolves and Kapuskasing Flyers, is one of two local products in the Elliot Lake lineup. Teegan Dumont, a 2003 birth year defenseman is the other.
