Brant Battalion U11B rally to capture Southern Counties title, advance to OMHA championships

The Brant Battalion U11B team celebrates with the Southern Counties banner after capturing the championship on home ice in Paris on March 19. Pictured left to right, front row, Nolan Kearsley, Mason Monteiro, Ben Turnbull, (back row) Blake Anderson, Levi Blake, Austin Meza, Jacoby Bonnell, Jarome Burke, Gordon Fisher, Nash McLaren, Alex Thoms, Harrison Rusyn, Landon Kristman, Jett Rollins, Chuck Manikus, Henry Glowala, William Goslin and coaches Levi Blake, Shaun McLaren, Jon Kristman, Kevin Thoms and Scott Kearsley. See story on page 8.

Casandra Turnbull

Managing Editor

The Brant Battalion U11B team is headed to the OMHA Championships after a hard-fought 4-2 victory over the Twin Centre Stars in the deciding game of the Southern Counties final on March 19.

Backed by a strong hometown crowd, the Battalion completed an impressive comeback in the best-of-three series after dropping the opener 8-0 on March 13. The lopsided loss proved to be a turning point, as Brant responded with a 4-2 win in Game 2 before sealing the championship on home ice.

The final game opened with early pressure from Twin Centre, who struck less than a minute into the first period. Brant answered quickly, however, as Jacoby Bonnell scored just two minutes later, with Alex Thoms picking up the assist.

Twin Centre regained the lead before the end of the first period, but that would be their final goal of the night. The second period remained scoreless as both teams tightened defensively in a physical, evenly matched contest.

Brant found another gear in the third period - a trend that has defined the team’s season. Nolan Kearsley tied the game three minutes into the frame with an unassisted effort, setting the stage for a decisive push.

Just two minutes later, Nash McLaren capitalized on a setup from Blake Anderson to give the Battalion their first lead of the game. Kearsley added an insurance marker later in the period, tipping in a shot from Jett Rollins, assisted by Harrison Rusyn, to secure the 4-2 win.

The Battalion closed out the final minutes with disciplined puck control, limiting Twin Centre’s chances while protecting the lead. Goaltender Mason Monteiro turned aside 10 of 12 shots, including several key saves late in the third period.

“All year we prepared the kids for the ability to adapt, in both this final series and in the semi finals where they adapted to different setups and systems that were required to properly play against our opponents,” said head coach Jon Kristman. “Both our defense and offense stepped it up huge after a forgettable game 1 and helped lead us to the championship.”

The victory marks the first Southern Counties title for the Brant Minor Hockey Association since its formation last year.

With the championship banner set to be raised at the Brant Sports Complex, the Battalion will now turn its attention to the provincial stage. 

The team travels to Halton Hills from March 27 to 29 to compete in the U11B Tier 2 OMHA Championships, joining 12 of the top teams in Ontario.