BY OJHL.ca
May 14, 2025
Photo: Trenton captain Corbin Roach battles with Carter Streek of Grand Prairie during Trenton’s 6-2 win at the Centennial Cup in Calgary Tuesday. (Photos courtesy Hockey Canada)
The Trenton Golden Hawks rolled to a 6-2 win over the Grand Prairie Storm from Alberta at the Centennial Cup national Jr. A championship in Calgary Tuesday night.
David Fournier had his second straight two-goal game to pace the Golden Hawks (2-1-0-1), who led 4-1 after the first period.
The Ontario Junior Hockey League champions have nine points, two more than the Northern Manitoba Blizzard.
The Golden Hawks will be scoreboard watching tomorrow night. While they have completed preliminary-round play, Northern Manitoba has one more game, against Grand Prairie at 9:30 p.m. ET.
“We had a lot of jitters in the first two days. It’s a big tournament, obviously. It’s a lot for a lot of our guys, never having played in it before.”
The top team in each pool earns a bye into Saturday’s semifinals.
“We had a lot of jitters in the first two days,” Golden Hawks defenceman Kyloe Ellis told the OJHL. “It’s a big tournament. It’s a lot for a lot of our guys, never having played in it before.
“Our loss (2-1 in overtime to Kam River on Friday) was kind of a wake-up call. This was a good bounce-back for us.”
Devon Mauro had a goal and two assists for the Golden Hawks Tuesday. Other scorers were Cooper Matthews, Thomas Kuipers and Jaxon Pierce.
OJHL playoff MVP Ryan Sanborn stopped 34 pucks to pick up the win. He’s sporting a 0.921 save percentage through four games in Calgary.
The quarterfinals go Friday and the Centennial Cup final will be played Sunday at 7 p.m. ET.
All 25 games are livestreamed and available on a pay-per-view basis through HNLive, Hockey Canada’s official livestreaming partner, at HockeyCanada.ca/CentennialCup.
Ellis says the players are aware of the support back home, including watch parties at the Golden Hawks’ home rink.
“It’s awesome, ” said Ellis, who is committed to Ontario Tech for next season. “We have the best fans in the OJ and maybe Canada. It’s awesome to see all the videos and support we get from them.”
“Honestly, we just have to play the same way we did the past four periods (in the playoff round). Just be all over teams, hunt pucks and keep getting behind people.”
With the Golden Hawks off until at least Friday, they’ll stay sharp with morning skates. Ellis is looking forward to spending time with his family who just arrived in Calgary from Brantford.
“We’ve faced adversity and we always bounce back; we’re just a hard-working team and always find a way to get it done,” Golden Hawks forward Jaxon Pierce told Hockey Canada. “Whether we get a bye to the semis or not, we’re ready for whoever we face. We’re going to prepare for the next couple of days, take care of our bodies and get ready for the game. I still think we have another gear, but I think today was definitely our best game of the tournament.”
The championship game on May 18 will be available to TSN+ subscribers and RDS.ca in Canada through TSN and RDS.
The tournament includes 10 teams – the host Calgary Canucks and representatives from the Alberta Junior Hockey League, Ligue de hockey junior AAA du Québec, Ontario Junior Hockey League, Superior International Junior Hockey League, Central Canada Hockey League, Manitoba Junior Hockey League, Maritime Hockey League, Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League and Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League.
Grand Prairie finished as runners-up in the AJHL playoffs but earned a berth in the Centennial Cup because the league champion Calgary Canucks are serving as hosts.
Next Games (Wednesday, May 14):
Kam River Fighting Walleye vs. Greater Sudbury Cubs – 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT
Melfort Mustangs vs. Braves de Valleyfield – 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT
Grande Prairie Storm vs. Northern Manitoba Blizzard – 9:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. PT
