High schools earn high marks for hockey

Three teams from the Niagara region went undefeated on the opening day of pool play at Ontario Federation of School Athletic Association’s (OFSAA) boys and girls hockey championships.

The Saint Francis Phoenix, the second seed at the boys A/AA championship at Seymour-Hannah Sports and Entertainment Centre in St. Catharines, defeated No. 11 Frances, 4-1, and 13th-seeded Lambton, 5-3.

Also, 2-0 heading into the final game of pool play are the Holy Cross Raiders. The seventh seed from St. Catharines opened the girls A/AA championships in Stratford with victories over No. 12 Clarington, 6-1, and No. 14 Sainte-Marie, 4-2.

Two ties — against St. Peter, 2-2, and Mother Theresa, 6-6 — kept the Blessed Trinity in contention for a berth in the quarterfinals at the boys AAA championship in Windsor.

The Denis Morris Reds, the 15th seed and the host team at boys A/ AA provincials in St. Catharines, rebounded from a 3-2 loss to No. 4 King City with an 11-0 victory over the St. Mary Catholic Secondary School, the sixth seed from Hamilton.

Blessed Trinity of Grimsby also is hoping to end the girls high school hockey season with a medal. On Tuesday, the 12th-seeded Thunder edged No. 7 Bishop Allen, 7-3, and lost 10-1 to top-seeded Medway at the AAA championship, also in Windsor.

Preliminary-round action at all four championship tournaments wraps up Wednesday morning. Denis Morris is scheduled to play Immaculata (No. 9) at 10 a.m. at boys A/AA provincials with Saint Francis taking on Roland Michener (No. 8), beginning at 10:15 a.m.

Quarterfinals at the Seymour-Hannah centre begin at 4 p.m. Wednesday, with semifinals getting underway Thursday at 8 a.m.

The bronze-medal game is scheduled for 1 p.m. and the gold at 3 p.m.

Saint Francis is seeking its first title in boys hockey while Denis Morris won gold medals in AAA/ AAAA in 2008 and again in 2010 when the championships were held in St. Catharines.