Royals kick off OEHL season with Oxford Cup victory
- Lee Griffi
- Oct 2
- 3 min read
By Lee Griffi
The Tavistock Royals begin the 2025-2026 Ontario Elite Hockey League (OEHL) regular season on Oct. 4, but the team officially started the season with the resumption of the Oxford Cup.
“(The Oxford Cup is) something that I believe was founded by Tillsonburg and features a home and home exhibition between our clubs, with the winner determined by aggregate goals,” said Royals president Kyle Wynette. “With many players still wrapping up their summers, minor hockey coaching commitments, etc., we went into the weekend with a severely diminished roster.”
The Thunder downed the Royals 3-2 in overtime in game one, but Tavistock roared back with a 6-2 victory at home, winning the aggregate series 8-5.
“Admission for the game was free, but we instead asked fans to donate items like shampoo, deodorant, body wash, toothpaste and cash, which we will deliver to Optimism Place in Stratford,” added Wynette.
Team treasurer Heidi Danen is a director of the important organization located in Stratford.
“When she brought the idea to us, it was a no-brainer that this is something we’d love to help support. They offer shelter and services for women and children in our greater community who have been affected by abuse.”
Wynette said he, the team and the entire league are looking forward to the new and much larger league after it acquired several teams.
“We absorbed six teams from the now-defunct Western Ontario Senior Hockey League this year, and we have one new expansion team, Elmvale, to bring us to an 18-team league. Given the geographic distance between our northern and southernmost teams, we have aligned them into two conferences, north and south.”
He added the majority of Royals’ players travel on a team bus, but for those who drive to the games, they no longer have to face a two-and-a-half-hour commute, which is challenging with work and family commitments.
“The other positive is that we hope to see more fans able to travel to away games. Our playoffs will begin Superbowl weekend with the eighth- and ninth-place teams competing in a best two out of three series to secure the final playoff spot. We opted not to have an A Championship this year, as most teams recognize the desire to compete for that trophy is not very strong. Instead, we will play within our own conferences until a north and south champion is declared. Those teams will then compete for the AA Championship,” Wynette said.
The Royals have several key veterans returning this season, including Lucas Bast, Zach Brick, Callan Christner, assistant captains Drew Gerth, Trevor Sauder and Deven Kropf, Mitch Facey, Luke Fanjoy, Bryan Foster, captain Tristan Hohl, John McDonald, Jeremy Munro, Graeme Noye, Tyler Reid, Owen Robertson, Erik Robichaud, Zach Shomphe, Andrew van Boekel, Patrick Vulgan and Matt Zilke.
“We’re lucky we have so many talented hockey players living in our community. About half of our roster lives within 20 minutes of the rink, which I feel is really important in building a strong dressing room dynamic,” said Wynette.
Tavistock has also announced some exciting new signings, leading Wynette to believe they will be able to compete with the top teams in the OEHL.
“They include Mitch Atkins (SPHL), Kyle Soper (SPHL), Isaac Westlake (GOJHL), Michael Capicotto (OJHL), Colin Martin (WOSHL) and Joel Washington. I expect a few more will be signed to the roster before the season starts,” Wynette said. “
The team’s home opener will be Saturday, Oct. 4, at 7:30 p.m. against one of the league’s new teams, the Dunnville Aeros.
With files from Kyle Wynette
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