"The OHL-HPHL Battle of the Border this past weekend was a well run and memorable experience for our boys with a very high level of competition, and a lot of good information for them", Coach Gratton said. "The boys started the weekend against the number one US ranked Chicago Mission wherein they lost a hard fought, high tempo game 2-1.  On Saturday the boys played Detroit Honeybaked and had them 1-0 with 1.2 seconds remaining in the game; the boys lost 2-1 in 3 on 3 OT.  On Sunday the boys played Team Illinois and celebrated a 1-0 victory."  

Although the United States won the Minor Midget portion of the event by the narrow margin of 54-51 in points and taking the title for a sixth straight year the Bantam Division was won by Canada with a point spread of 35 points to 28 points.

The overall statistics for the Bantam Division are:

 

TEAM	F	A	PTS	Percentage
BANTAM TEAM OHL	64	52	35	0.551
BANTAM TEAM HPHL	53	63	28	0.460

Copied below are the OHL Articles covering the 3 days of the 2019 Battle of the Border:

NOVEMBER 9, 2019

2019 Battle of the Border: Day 1 Round-Up

BATTLE OF THE BORDER 

 

A busy opening day of the 2019 Battle of the Border in Windsor, Ont. resulted in a number of hard-fought contests settled by just one goal. A total of 11 games were played between the Minor Midget and Major Bantam age groups at the WFCU Centre and its four ice pads.

 

Friday’s Minor Midget Scores:

 

Toronto Marlboros 2, Detroit Compuware 1
The Toronto Marlboros started the 2019 Battle of the Border with a 2-1 win as Samuel Buonaguro stood tall, backstopping his team to victory. Luke Devlin and Lorenzo Bonaiuto provided Marlboros goals while Detroit’s Seth Constance broke-up Buonaguro’s shutout bid 3:44 into the third period. The Marlies held Detroit to 0-for-3 on the power play, killing off three straight penalties to end the game.
STATISTICS

 

Toronto Titans 3, Oakland Grizzlies 2
Hayden Simpson‘s third period goal 7:09 into the frame stood as the game winner as the Toronto Titans edged the Oakland Grizzlies 3-2 on Friday afternoon. Aaron Andrade led the Titans attack with a goal and two assists while Alexander Dubajic rounded out the Toronto scoring. Liam Sztuska picked up the win in goal, surrendering Oakland goals from Nathan Lewis and Dario Sacino.
STATISTICS

Chicago Mission 2, Southern Tier Admirals 1
Carson Walters scored the game winner midway through the second period as the Chicago Mission defeated the Southern Tier Admirals 2-1. Walters finished with a goal and an assist while blueliner William Kroeger also scored. Lucas Szyszka was the winning goaltender with the only blemish on his afternoon coming in the form of a Sam Alfano goal. The chippy affair saw the two clubs combine for 11 infractions when all was said and done.
STATISTICS

 

Chicago Young Americans 4, Sun County Panthers 2
William Steadman scored a pair to lead the Chicago Young Americans to a 4-2 win to open their Battle of the Border schedule. Steadman scored second period goals just under five minutes part to put Chicago up 2-1. Colin Hartwell finished with a goal and an assist while Marc LaFrance also touched twine. Ryan Costin picked up a pair of helpers while Owen Flores earned the win in goal. Luca Muscedere and Drew Booker scored goals for the Sun County Panthers as they came out on the losing end. The two teams combined for a total of 18 infractions in the hard-hitting affair.
STATISTICS

 

Team Illinois 5, Ajax-Pickering Raiders 4 – OT
Grayson Mandl scored the game winner 1:53 into overtime with assists from David Deputy and Noah Dry to lead Team Illinois past the Ajax-Pickering Raiders 5-4. Team Illinois overcame a 4-2 deficit with a pair of third period goals to charge back and defeat Ajax-Pickering in the extra frame. Danny Bdzoch, Brady Fraser, Pijus Zemaitis and Isac Martins rounded out the Team Illinois scoring in front of goaltender Aiden Lee. The Raiders were led by a pair of goals from Ty Petrou while Ryder McIntyre and Nicholas Colangelo added singles.
STATISTICS

 

Friday’s Major Bantam Scores:

Detroit Honeybaked 3, Toronto Jr. Canadiens 2

Detroit Compuware 6, Sun County Panthers 2

Windsor Jr. Spitfires 5, Chicago Young Americans 0

Oakville Rangers 6, Team Illinois 3

Chicago Mission 2, Hamilton Jr. Bulldogs 1

Mississauga Reps 7, Oakland Jr. Grizzlies 1

 

NOVEMBER 10, 2019

2019 Battle of the Border: Day 2 Round-Up

BATTLE OF THE BORDER

The 2019 Battle of the Border continued on Saturday in Windsor with 12 games on the schedule. In addition to action on the ice, players and their families had an opportunity watch the Windsor Spitfires morning skate while also taking in a thrilling 6-4 Spits comeback win over the North Bay Battalion at night. OHL Director of Recruitment Kyle Pereira also hosted an information seminar focusing on areas such as the league’s scholarship program, professional support programs, development opportunities, benefits, player environment, and safety, health and welfare programs.

Here are Saturday’s results at a glance.

Saturday’s Minor Midget Scores:

Chicago Mission 6, Sun County Panthers 2
Carson Walters had a productive morning, scoring twice while adding an assist to lead the Chicago Mission to a second straight win, this time defeating the Sun County Panthers 6-2. Max Matthews also scored twice for Chicago while Miles Gust picked up three assists. The Mission charged out to a 4-0 lead after two periods before Sun County found the back of the net twice in the third. Chris Able and Charlie Emme rounded out the Chicago scoring in front of goaltender Benjamin Motew. Luke Sherk and Jack Fuerth scored Sun County goals as the Panthers fell to 0-2 on the weekend.
STATISTICS

Detroit Compuware 4, Toronto Titans 2
Detroit Compuware rebounded from a 2-1 loss to the Toronto Marlboros on Friday as Michael Mesic and Samuel Assinewai each had a goal and an assist in a 4-2 win over the Toronto Titans. Brian Robertson and Tucker Shedd tacked on goals for the boys in orange and black while Gavin Moffatt backstopped his team to victory. Kocha Delic provided both Titans goals in the loss while Hayden Simpson assisted on both. The Titans fall to 1-1.
STATISTICS

Detroit Honeybaked 10, Toronto Marlboros 1
Detroit Honeybaked made a statement in their opening game, trouncing the Toronto Marlboros 10-1 thanks to a three goal, two assist performance from Max Namestnikov. Detroit scored six goals in the first period to lead 6-1 after the opening 17 minutes, cruising the rest of the way as Frank Nazar had two goals and two helpers, Cole Spicer banged in a hat-trick and Owen Baker had a goal and three assists. Justin Varner rounded out the scoring for Detroit while Ben Daguanno stopped all but one shot on the afternoon as Marlies defenceman Matthew Jovanovic scored the lone goal for his club.
STATISTICS

Oakland Grizzlies 5, Toronto Jr. Canadiens 1
The Oakland Grizzlies led 2-0 after one period and powered their way to a 5-1 win over the Toronto Jr. Canadiens on Saturday afternoon. Nathan Lewis had a goal and two assists while John Emmons and Bradyn Joss each had a goal and a helper as the Grizzlies rebounded from a 3-2 loss on Friday. Trent Boryszczuk was the winning netminder, surrendering just one goal that came off the stick of JRC’s Brice Cooke. The game was preceded by a moment of silence as both teams gathered at centre ice to honour the memory of Graham Sirman, the father of Jr. Canadiens defenceman Thomas Sirman, who tragically passed away on Friday.
STATISTICS

Southern Tier Admirals 2, Team Illinois 1
Jacob Leblanc scored the game winner 10 minutes into the third period as the Southern Tier Admirals bounced back from a 2-1 loss on Friday, defeating Team Illinois by a score of 2-1. The Admirals fell behind 1-0 just 1:31 into action as Team Illinois’ Alexander Cotton opened the scoring. Cam Lowe would tie things at one 5:12 into the second period before Leblanc scored the deciding goal with an assist from Connor Pelletier. Matt Deluca collected the win in goal as both teams are now 1-1.
STATISTICS

Ajax-Pickering Raiders 3, Chicago Young Americans 1
Ryan Johnstone scored a pair of goals to lead the Ajax-Pickering Raiders to a 3-1 win over the Chicago Young Americans to wrap-up Saturday’s Minor Midget action. The Raiders scored a pair of first period goals, with Ty Petrou opening things up 6:31 into regulation. Ajax-Pickering bounce back from a 5-4 overtime loss on Friday as goaltender Quentan Koop got the win in the crease. Nathan Sarallo provided CYA’s lone marker as they fell to 1-1 on the weekend.
STATISTICS

Saturday’s Major Bantam Scores:

Chicago Mission 8, Oakville Rangers 1

Windsor Jr. Spitfires 5, Detroit Compuware 3

Detroit Honeybaked 2, Hamilton Jr. Bulldogs 1

Toronto Jr. Canadiens 3, Team Illinois 1

Mississauga Reps 5, Chicago Young Americans 1

Sun County Panthers 7, Oakland Grizzlies 6

 

NOVEMBER 12, 2019

2019 Battle of the Border: Day 3 Round-Up

BATTLE OF THE BORDER

The 2019 Battle of the Border drew to a close in Windsor on Sunday as the 35-game schedule wrapped-up at the WFCU Centre.

The United States won the Minor Midget portion of the event by the narrow margin of 54-51 in points, taking the title for a sixth straight year.

Here’s a look at how the action unfolded on Sunday.

Sunday’s Minor Midget Scores:

Chicago Mission 3, Ajax-Pickering Raiders 2
The Chicago Mission overcame a 2-0 deficit to come back and defeat the Ajax-Pickering Raiders 3-2. William Kroeger picked up a pair of goals from the blue line before Carson Walters finished off a productive weekend with the third period game winner. Lucas Szyszka collected the win in goal as Chicago played to an overall record of 3-0. The led 2-0 after two periods on goals from Ryder McIntyre and Nicholas Colangelo. Ajax-Pickering finished the weekend at 1-1-1.
STATISTICS

Detroit Compuware 2, Toronto Jr. Canadiens 1
Michael Mesic scored the game winner in the final minute of regulation as Detroit Compuware edged the Toronto Jr. Canadiens 2-1. Detroit finished the weekend with a 2-1 record as defenceman Seth Constance also scored while netminder Mike Colarossi locked down the win. Pano Fimis provided JRC’s lone goal 2:20 into the first period and that’s all the offence they’d muster, finishing the weekend 0-2.
STATISTICS

Southern Tier Admirals 2, Chicago Young Americans 1
Early first period goals from Trent Swick and Andrew Leblanc were enough to carry the Southern Tier Admirals to a 2-1 win over the Chicago Young Americans. Tucker Adams stopped all but one shot that came his way, having his shutout bid broken just 11 seconds into the second period on a goal from Luke Lizak. Swick and Leblanc both had a goal and an assist as the Admirals finished with a 2-1 record, competing in three low-scoring games. The Young Americans ended up at 1-2.
STATISTICS

Team Illinois 1, Sun County Panthers 0
Grayson Mandl’s goal with 2:09 left in the second period was the only one on the board when all was said and done as Team Illinois snuck past the Sun County Panthers 1-0. Aiden Lee locked down the shutout to help his team finish the weekend with a 2-1 victory. Sun County was held off the scoresheet while goaltender Boe Piroski did his part, surrendering just one goal to keep his team in the game to the very end. Sun County played to an 0-3 mark at the event.
STATISTICS

Detroit Honeybaked 10, Toronto Titans 5
Detroit Honeybaked’s tear across the scoresheet continued on Sunday as they put up double-digits once more, defeating the Toronto Titans 10-5. Max Namestnikov and Cole Spicer both recorded two goals and an assist while Frank Nazar finished with a goal and three helpers. Justin Varner, Patrick Czarnecki, Chase Pietila, Christian Kocsis and Bryce Grandbois rounded out the Honeybaked scoring as they played to a perfect 2-0 in Windsor. The Titans carried a 3-2 lead into the midway point of the first period when Detroit exploded for seven consecutive goals to put things out of reach. Titans goals came from Alexander Dubajic, Nicholas Moldenhauer, Aaron Andrade, Marko Crnojevic and Anthony Piccininno. The Titans played to a record of 1-2.
STATISTICS

Oakland Jr. Grizzlies 4, Toronto Marlboros 3 – SO
Sunday’s Minor Midget finale came down to a shootout as the Oakland Jr. Grizzlies edged the Toronto Marlboros 4-3 on a Brando DiAntonio game winner. Down 3-2 with time ticking down in the third period, Hunter Brzustewicz scored the equalizer for the Grizzlies to force OT and an eventual shootout where they prevailed, improving to 2-1. Nathan Lewis had a goal and two assists for Oakland while Rutger McGroarty joined Brzustewicz with a goal and an assist. Trent Boryszczuk stopped four of the five Marlies shooters he faced in the shootout. Marlboros goals came from Lorenzo Bonaiuto, Isaiah George and Kalen Peterson are they wrapped up the weekend at 1-1-1.
STATISTICS

Sunday’s Major Bantam Scores:

Mississauga Reps 5, Detroit Compuware 3

Chicago Mission 4, Toronto Jr. Canadiens 2

Hamilton Jr. Bulldogs 1, Team Illinois 0

Oakville Rangers 5, Detroit Honeybaked 4

Chicago Young Americans 4, Sun County Panthers 3 – OT

Windsor Jr. Spitfires 3 vs. Oakland Jr. Grizzlies 1

 

For more information and a full schedule of the 2019 Battle of the Border Showcase, click here.