Crescents The Team To Beat, News, Midget Major, 2011-12 (Owen Sound Minor Hockey Group)

That's because all five champions from the province's top regional associations will face off beginning on Friday for Ontario bragging rights.

"Every team there is a winner and every team's season has been a success so far so it would be nice to top off our season with a win at the OHF's," said Cunningham, Owen Sound's captain.

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity so we're all pretty excited. This is the first time for everyone to go to the OHF."

Owen Sound opens the OHF championships on Friday at 2:45 p.m. against Toronto's Applewood Coyotes.

And they'll meet the North London Nationals at 7:30 p.m. that night.

Owen Sound will face the Schumacher Cubs at 2:15 p.m. and then wrap up against the London Bandits at 7 p.m.

First plays fourth at 10 a.m. on Sunday while second meets third at 8 a.m.

The gold medal game is set for 3 p.m.

"At this point, the competition is all going to be pretty good," said coach Trevor Cunningham whose staff includes assistant coach Scott Amyot, trainer Carl Linthorne and manager Rhonda Vander Ploeg.

"You don't get this far if you're not. Probably that fifth place team will not have won more than a game. As long as you win two (games), you'll move on."

Owen Sound is hoping to cap a very successful season with another championship.

But regardless of what the midgets do this weekend, the team's success has been a boost to the Owen Sound Minor Hockey Group.

"I think this is what Owen Sound Minor Hockey is hoping for," said coach Cunningham.

"Maybe more kids will look as Owen Sound as the place to stay instead of going outside of Owen Sound. We can put together good, competitive teams and win games and tournaments and go further in the playoffs."

The midgets got a boost when the Grey-Bruce Highlanders AAA major midget team folded, sending five players back to Owen Sound.

"Some of the (returning-players' parents) had some reservations about coming back," said Cunningham. "But they've seen the system and seen that the hockey is very competitive. They're all enjoying winning a championship."

Owen Sound enters this tournament as the team to beat. They're the top-rated major midget team in Ontario according to the MyHockey Rankings.comwebsite. And they knocked out two-time defending champion Amherstburg in the Ontario Minor Hockey Association playdowns.

"I don't know if you can put any stock in the rankings or not but I think we stand as good a chance as any of the other teams," said Cunningham.

"I think our strength is we're pretty strong through three lines. We don't depend on one line to score our goals or our defence to keep the puck all of the time. At any one time we could have one line do all the scoring and the other two hold their own."

Owen Sound also rotates its two goalies' Jerred Kiss and Brandon Vanderschot.

Owen Sound had just four losses in the regular season and 10 overall in finishing 46-10-4. The squad also won a tournament in Caledonia and lost in the final in the Owen Sound Fall Classic tournament.

"I was surprised with how good we were doing early in the season and it's gone really well," said centre Brandon Eagles, a 16-year-old from Meaford.

"It's pretty exciting to get this far and we really don't know what to expect. We haven't played these teams before."


courtesy of The Owen Sound Sun Times