Blyth Brussels Crusaders win Seaforth tournament, host successful Jamboree
BY SHAWN LOUGHLIN
It’s an exciting time to be a Blyth Brussels Crusaders fan, with a prestigious tournament win over the weekend for one team and playoffs on the horizon for a handful of others.
Just down the road in Seaforth, the U13 LL Crusaders won the 13th annual Doug Perkes Memorial Tournament, defeating the South Huron Sabres in the tournament’s “C” Championship Final.
Play for the locals began last Friday morning with a 5-2 loss to the Mid-Huron Huskies and an 8-6 win over the Schomberg Red Wings, followed by a 6-2 loss to the Saugeen Valley Steelheads.
That led to a semi-final victory over the Arthur Vipers by a score of 6-0 later on Saturday and then a 4-1 win over the South Huron Sabres in the “C” Championship Final on Sunday to win the gold.
As for the playoff picture, five Crusader teams have playoff series in their future, but just one team has played its first playoff game. On Feb. 9, the U11 Rep team played the Kinucks in Kincardine and lost by a score of 3-2.
The team now has playoff games scheduled against the Saugeen Shores Storm (Feb. 15 in Brussels), Mitchell Meteors (Feb. 19 in Brussels), Kincardine Kinucks (Feb. 21 in Brussels), Saugeen Shores Storm (Feb. 22 in Southampton), Huron-Bruce Blizzard (Feb. 25 in Lucknow), Mitchell Meteors (Feb. 26 in Mitchell) and Huron-Bruce Blizzard (Feb. 28 in Brussels).
The U13 Rep team has two pairs of playoff games on the schedule, first with the Wingham Ironmen (Feb. 18 in Wingham and Feb. 22 in Blyth) and then with the Mount Forest Rams (Feb. 23 in Mount Forest and March 1 in Blyth).
The U15 Rep Crusaders have three pairs of games on the schedule for their playoff run thus far. First, the team will play the Listowel Cyclones on the road on Feb. 17 and then at home in Brussels on Feb. 18, followed by games with the Shallow Lake Lakers, first in Blyth on Feb. 22 followed by a game on the road on Feb. 24, and the Huron-Bruce Blizzard on March 1 in Blyth and March 3 in Ripley.
The U18 Rep team has six playoff games on the schedule: Feb. 20 against the Ironmen in Wingham, Feb. 21 against the AEMHA Ice Dogs in Chesley, Feb. 24 against the Goderich Sailors in Blyth, Feb. 26 against the Shallow Lake Lakers in Blyth, March 1 against the Huron-Bruce Blizzard in Brussels and March 3 against the Capitals in Walkerton.
The U21 team is set to host a pair of playoff games in the coming weeks. The Crusaders will play the Saugeen Valley Steelheads on Feb. 21 and the Huron-Bruce Blizzard on March 7, both in Brussels.
Also on the tournament front, there were full houses in both Blyth and Brussels for the annual Jamboree tournaments. The U6 and U7 Burgundy and White teams were hosting in Brussels, while the U8 Burgundy and White teams were hosting in Blyth.
In regular season action on Friday, Feb. 7, the U11 LL Crusaders lost to the Listowel Cyclones by a score of 8-1 in Brussels and the U11 Rep team lost to the Minto Mad Dogs by a score of 4-3, also in Brussels.
The next day, the U9 LL team tied the Howick Hornets at four on the road and the U9 MD team played the Meteors in Mitchell, but a score for that game was unavailable at press time.
On Sunday, Feb. 9, the U18 LL Crusaders lost to the Huron-Bruce Blizzard Grey team in Brussels by a score of 4-0, the U9 LL team beat the Wingham Ironmen in Blyth by a score of 4-2 and the U15 LL Crusaders lost to the Mitchell Meteors on the road by a score of 11-0.
On Monday, Feb. 10, the U18 LL Crusaders beat the Kincardine Kinucks in Blyth by a score of 4-2. Meanwhile, back on Feb. 5, the U13 LL Crusaders lost to the Listowel Cyclones by a score of 12-1 and the U18 LL team lost to the Mid-Huron Huskies by a score of 3-1, both in Blyth, while the U9 MD team lost by a score of 5-3 to the Mitchell Meteors in Brussels.
On Feb. 4, the U18 Rep Crusaders lost to the Saugeen Shores Storm in Brussels by a score of 5-0 and the U15 Rep team also lost to the Kincardine Kinucks in Brussels by a score of 3-1. On Feb. 3, the U7 Burgundy and White teams played a pair of Goderich Sailors teams in Blyth, but scores were not kept for those games, and the U15 LL Crusaders lost to the Mitchell Meteors in Blyth by a score of 8-2 and the U18 LL team lost to the Goderich Sailors on the road by a score of 3-1.
Looking ahead, this Family Day weekend, the U18 Rep team will be in South Huron to play in the annual Exeter U18 Rep Tournament, beginning with games against the Riverside Rangers and Mitchell Meteors on Valentine’s Day followed by a game with the Lucan Irish the next day.
In regular season action on Saturday, Feb. 15, the U9 MD team will host the Mid-Huron Huskies in Blyth, while the U8 Burgundy team will play the Wingham Ironmen on the road and the U7 White and Burgundy teams will play a pair of South Bruce Blades teams in Teeswater and the U6 Crusaders will play the Mid-Huron Huskies in Hensall.
The only game on the schedule the next day, Feb. 16, is a game between the U9 MD Crusaders and the Kincardine Kinucks in Blyth. Then, on Wednesday, Feb. 19, the U9 LL team will play the Mid-Huron Huskies in Bayfield and the U9 MD team will play the Huron-Bruce Blizzard in Lucknow.