Nathan Siebert’s goal in the third overtime period gave the Stratford U18 Warriors hockey team their first Ontario Hockey Federation championship since 2016.
Siebert went coast to coast and slid a low shot from just in front of the icing line into the net at the 5:40 mark, giving Stratford a 3-2 win over St. Thomas and setting off an on-ice celebration.
“I was just trying to put the puck on the net and it just squeaked in five-hole. Oh my God, I’m speechless,” said an emotional Siebert following the game.
The Stars led 1-0 in the second before Blake Hodgson tied it up on a feed from Colin Shultz. The Warriors took a 2-1 lead in the third period on Hudson Gordon’s goal, but St. Thomas forced overtime with a goal midway through the final frame.
The Warriors were in danger of winding up last in the round-robin portion of the event after losing twice on Friday, 5-4 to St. Thomas and 4-1 to host New Hamburg. They rallied back on Saturday with wins over Hearst and Porcupine by scores of 3-0 and 4-1, respectively.
Stratford took on Porcupine in one of Sunday morning’s semi-final matchups and earned a 4-0 victory. Jordan Keane led the attack with a pair of goals while Cayden Bourassa and Colin Schultz added single markers for the Warriors. Colton Thomson earned the shutout.
Stratford represented Alliance Hockey while St. Thomas was the Ontario Minor Hockey Association champion. Hearst and Porcupine were the top two teams in the Northern Ontario Hockey Association and New Hamburg earned a berth as the host team.
