GMHL season finally draws to a close

April 16, 2016 · 0 Comments

After almost eight months of hockey, the Greater Metro Hockey League (GMHL) finally wrapped up with the final championship series between the Totttenham Steam and the Kingsville Kings.

The Tottenham Steam won the GMHL title and the Russell Cup with a 6-1 win in Game Seven of the best-of-seven final series on Kingsville home ice on April 4.

The two teams made it to the final after three rounds of playoffs and a final round robin tournament that featured the two teams along with the Almaguin Spartans.

The Spartans were eliminated, leaving Tottenham and Kingsville to battle it out in the final series for the championship cup.

“Our guys were so focused, determined, and ready to go in the final game,” said Steam had coach Rya Wood. “We had a great meeting before the start of the game, and talked about responsibilities and goals and expectations, and what it will take to win in hostile territory. The guys put it all together and played a full 60 minutes.”

Locally, the GMHL teams had a disappointing season.

The Shelburne Sharks finished last in the Central Division with a 7-35 record and failed to make a playoff berth.

The Sharks didn’t take to the ice at the Centre Dufferin Recreation Complex in Shelburne for their last few home games and had move to other venues to play.

Reasons for the move were not explained by either the arena or the hockey club.

There’s no word yet if the Sharks will be returning to Shelburne next season.

The Orangeville Ice Crushers also failed to make the playoffs after ending the regular season with a 16-24-2 record and an eighth place finish in the Division.

Right after the championship win, the Tottenham Steam announced that there was a change in ownership and coach and GM Ryan Wood was no longer with the team.

Wood took over ownership of the Alliston Coyotes franchise and will lead that team next season.

By Brian Lockhart