Tigers clinch OJHL regular season title, face Newmarket in first round

February 25, 2015 · 0 Comments

By Jake Courtepatte

For the first time since 2006-07, the Aurora Tigers are back atop Ontario Junior A supremacy.

The regular season champs clinched the title in spectacular fashion Friday night in a showdown between the best records in the OJHL, facing the Trenton Golden Hawks for the final road game of the season.

Vince Figliomeni, stellar since moving to the Tigers from the Mississauga Chargers in early January, opened the scoring on the power play late in the first period.

Cameron Morrison surpassed the 30-goal plateau in his rookie season by notching two in the second period to put the Tigers up 3 – 0.
Callum Fryer added another late in the frame in an eventual 4 – 2 victory.

Goaltender Andy Munroe was beaten twice on 23 shots, and the Tigers will be looking for his backstopping success to continue into the postseason.
Figliomeni finished his season on a point-per-game pace for the Tigers, potting five goals and ten assists in fifteen games.

The Tigers wrapped up the season at home on Saturday, the occasion marked by a celebration of the life of Judy Sherin, a proud and supporting fan, who passed away last summer.

Aurora brought the momentum of their 13-game winning streak back to home ice, adding two more points to their record in a 2 – 1 win over the Oakville Blades. Fryer and captain Michael Laidley had the goals for the Tigers.

With a final record of 44-7-0-3, it was a dominant season for the Tigers in the Ontario Junior Hockey League. When all was said and done, they finished six points ahead of the Golden Hawks in the 22-team league.

Friday’s win not only clinched the OJHL season title for the Tigers, but a first-round match-up with the rival eighth-place Newmarket Hurricanes. At press time, the series was set to kick off Wednesday at the Aurora Community Centre.

This series is a rematch of last year’s opening round matchup, when the second-place Tigers swept the Hurricanes in four-straight games on their way to the OJHL final. They fell four games to two to the Toronto Lakeshore Patriots in the final.

Aurora’s domination of the Battle of York continued into this season – in five matchups, the Hurricanes were only able to top the Tigers once, during a December that saw a seriously undermanned Aurora squad.

Game two kicks off Friday evening at the Aurora Community Centre. Puck drop is at 7:30p.m., and tickets can be picked up at the box office.

For stats, schedules, and more information, visit www.auroratigers.pointstreaksites.com.