AMHA’s Early Bird Tournament attracts 81 eager hockey teams from across Ontario

October 1, 2026 · 0 Comments

Mayor Tom Mrakas and AMHA President Corby Saltzman presided over Opening Ceremonies of the 81-team, 13-division Aurora Early Bird Tournament at the ACC on Saturday night.

The regional tourney attracted hockey teams from as far away as Prince Edward County and London. Games were played at all five ice pads in Aurora – ACC1, ACC2, ARC West, ARC East, and AFLC – as well as rinks in East Gwillimbury, Bradford, and Stouffville.

Mayor Mrakas and President Saltzman strode out along the red carpet to join Emcee and U12 Team Manager Peter Kotsopoulos at centre ice. All three officiated the ceremonial puck drop between Aurora Tiger David Toombs and East Enders Ticat Logan Akins.

The prowling Tigers won the Showcase Game 3-1 over the Ticats from The Beaches to complete an undefeated 2-0-2 round robin record and advanced to the U12AA division semifinal on Sunday morning.

Aurora’s U12 rep squad got to the Final Four by rolling through the opening round of the Early Bird. The Tigers tied the North York Knights 3-3 on Friday morning in Game 1, defeated the Oshawa Generals 6-4 on Friday afternoon in Game 2, tied the Kingston Canadians 3-3 on Saturday morning, and kept their record unblemished by defeat with a two-goal triumph over the East Enders on Saturday night.

Alas, the Tigers were defeated 4-2 by the North York Knights in the semifinal showdown and the Knights went on to win the U12 division championship on Sunday afternoon.

Despite the defeat in Game 5 of the tourney, the Tigers’ balanced scoring was on display in their 5-game, 17-goal Early Bird performance. Eight players bulged the twine at least once versus their opponents on the weekend: Luka Kotsopoulos, David Toombs, Harrison Dawn, Brody Glover, Matthew Campoli, Ben Priest, and Spencer Barton.

AMHA President Corby Saltzman was pleased with the U12 Tigers’ five-game early season effort, praised the early season culture established by Head Coach Alex Priest and Team Manager Peter Kotsopoulos, and highlighted some special treatment the team received from Aurora’s OJHL club.

“The kids got to use the Junior A Tigers’ dressing room at the ACC—the Junior Tigers put out a post-game spread of fruits and vegetables as well as water and Gatorade for the U12 Tigers to enjoy. Thanks to Tigers owner Jim Thomson for his hospitality in hosting our rep Tigers team. It’s another example of the great relationship between the Junior Tigers and the AMHA. I know the kids were really happy to use the big club’s dressing room. It was a special experience for them.”

Saltzman noted that it was too early to predict how the Tigers rep teams will fare in 2026-27, but he had “high hopes for many of the teams” representing the Town.

He pointed out that the AMHA rep teams are “maxed out at 400 players” and added that “we have 270 registered players in House League for the upcoming season.”

The AMHA’s President is hoping that the rep Tigers teams will catch fire as the U13BB Tigers did in 2025-26.

“Our U13 team made it to the OMHA Finals which is a feat in itself. Head Coach Brian Pusker, who was a non-parent coach, did a great job over a long, successful season and his team lost a tough one in the championship game. It was played in front of a packed arena and they came up just a bit short. They played great hockey through their 26-game regular season, and competed in almost 50 games.”

By Jim Stewart
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter