Custom Ice Rinks - In the News

Marlie Bantams cruise to provincial championship.
April 2004; MIKE BEASLEY

by Mike Beasley
Kanata, Ont. - Like Toronto Marboros Midget cousins competing just a couple hundred kilometers away, the Bantam AAA Marlboros ended their season by taking home a provincial championship.

Unlike the Midget AAA team, the Marlies were the dominant team throughout the 2004 Nortel Network Cup and cruised to victory in the final, blanking the London Jr. Knights 5-0 at the Corel Centre.

The Marlboros were the class of the tournament all week long, going 5-1 in the round-robin portion of the seven-team tournament which consisted of Toronto from GTHL, London Junior Knights Alliance, Hamilton Junior Bulldogs OMHA, Greater Kingston 89 Predators ODMHA, Thunder Bay Sportop Kings HNO, Timmins Technosub Rangers NOHA, and the host Kanata Blazers ODMHA.

Toronto scored a whopping 46 goals and allowed only nine en route to a lopsided victory (9-2) in the semi-finals against the Kingston Predators.

Marlboros head coach, James Naylor was extremely proud of the way his team performed during the tournament.

"All 19 guys contributed to this championship," said Naylor, prior to receiving a Gatorade shower, coutesy of his celebrating players. "It was a different group every game, we did not have to rely on the same guys all the time. Our team depth really helped us."

Going to the provincial championship had been one of the team's goals when it met for first time this season back in August at the Teen Ranch in Caledon, Ont., for some team building.

"We are not on the ice as a team in the summer," explained Naylor. "We went to the ranch at the end of August to begin our season. We were on the ice (at the camp in Caledon) for one and a half hours in the morning and afternoon, plus an

hour of dry-land training. The boys get to swim and do some other fun stuff that helps create team spirit."

There is a true NHL connection within the 2004 Ontario Bantam AAA Champion Marlboros. Ex-NHLers, Rick Vaive and Dave Gagner have sons that play on the team - left winger Justin Vaive and forward Sam Gagner. There is another prominent pro athlete connection on the team - 13 - year old John Tavares is the son of perhaps the best lacrosse player in the world, John Tavares, Sr., a star with the Buffalo Bandits of the National Lacrosse League.

Marlies coach (and former NHLer) Dave Gagner celebrates with son, Sam.

Vaive, who was the first 50-goal scorer in Maple Leaf history, liked the chemistry of the Bantam Marlies from the beginning of the season. "This is the second year these boys have been together"said Vaive who is an ambassador for the Toronto Maple Leafs and does some work for Leafs television. "They have a lot of character and had to play through some injuries. The provincial championship had been on their minds all season."

Dave Gagner is the assistant coach with the team and enjoyed his first experience behind the bench. "The kids have been fantastic," smiled Gagner. "Everybody learned how to work together to achieve our goals. Even the parents understood and supported our coaching philosophies. We put the team first and that is a major reason we won."

Gagner was impressed with the attitude and effort the kids brought to the rink this year. "They have an incredible desire to play - they are like sponges, listening to and absorbing everything we show them. We tried a couple of NHL drills and I was amazed at how well they did."

Gagner enjoys coaching his son but is not sure if he wants to take it to the next level. Since his retirement from the NHL five years ago, Gagner has established himself in the business world with "Custom Ice Inc." a company that specializes in rink building.

The Marlies' victory was a team effort but a couple of players were dominant during the tournament Tavares was named the top forward, Steven Tarasuk was named the top defenceman and team captain Bryan Cameron was on the tournament's all-star team.

The London Jr. Knights, led by Bantam Cup MVP Logan Couture, reached the finals by defeating the Hamilton Junior Bulldogs 4-2 in semi-final play. IN the bronze medal game, the Kingston Predators squeezed past the Hamilton Jr. Bulldogs 5-4 with a last minute goal.

Tournament Committee Chairman, Cyril Leeder said the tournament was a success.

"Everything went well this week; we are extremely satisfied." said Leeder who is the Chief Operation Officer for the Corel Centre and the Ottawa Senators. "The host committee and all the volunteers did a fantastic job. There were no major hiccups and everything was on schedule. Even the parents were occupied with several off ice activites."