(photo courtesy OJHL Images)
North York Rangers defenceman Will Reilly and his Team OJHL Oates downed Team OJHL Nieuwendyk 4-0 in the final of the 2014 Central Canada Cup All-Star Challenge Sunday evening.
Reilly notched three assists over the five games of the tournament, while fellow Rangers Matthew Whittaker and Gabriel Valenzuela contributed a point each for their all-star squad: Team OJHL Coffey.
For Reilly, 17, the event was nothing but positive.
“Yeah it was awesome,” he said.
“Made a lot of new friends, got to play with a lot of new guys, and overall I really enjoyed it. The tournament was a great atmosphere all the way through, and it was a great experience overall.”
Reilly’s Oates team actually defeated Coffey in the quarterfinals on Saturday, finding a measure of revenge for an opening-game loss to kick off the round robin Friday morning.
The rookie played with veteran Kingston Voyageurs blue liner and Colgate commit Rory McGuire for the duration of the event.
“He was a great partner for me to have,” Reilly said.
“He actually went to St. Andrews College, while I went to Upper Canada Colleges, so we are kind of big rivals in that way, but we gelled really well and he turned out to be a great guy.”
The Rangers are back in action on Friday night when they travel to St. Mike’s Arena to battle the Buzzers. Puck drops on the Battle of Bathurst at 7:30 pm.