By Larry Moko
The last several days have been exhilarating for Grade 10 student Ben Lamb of St. Mary Catholic Secondary School.
On the weekend, he was drafted into the Ontario Hockey League, as an 11th-round pick (219th overall) by the Barrie Colts.
And Tuesday, at Mohawk 4 Ice Centre, the Dundas resident helped St. Mary to a 3-1 victory over the St. Thomas More Knights in a Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic junior high school hockey game.
That result improved the Crusaders record to 2-0, while More slipped to 1-1.
"It's a great honour to be drafted," Lamb said, "especially by Barrie. "I'm really excited.
"It was a little bit of a surprise. I was hoping to be drafted but I didn't know for sure if I would be."
Lamb, a right winger, is the Crusaders captain.
Prior to the current junior high school schedule, Lamb split his time between the St. Mary varsity team and the North York U16 AAA Rangers of the Greater Toronto Hockey League. With the Rangers, he scored seven goals and assisted on 13 others in 30 games.
The 6-foot-3, 202-pounder also travelled to Sudbury last month with the Crusaders to compete at the OFSAA tournament for A/AA schools.
"Ben is a big guy," St. Mary coach Jason Kokoski said. "He controls the puck really well. He's got a hard shot, especially for his age group. Ben is just a really good all-around player."
The St. Mary coach says Lamb can physically dominate along the boards because of his size and strength.
After a scoreless first period, St. Mary took a 2-1 lead over the Knights during the second frame before adding an insurance marker with three minutes, 40 seconds remaining in the third.
Nick Napoleone accounted for St. Mary's first goal while the next two went to Lucas Hall.
Centre Calogero Pirrera replied for More.
"St. Mary is a solid team," Knights coach Jason Popovic said. "They move the puck very well. They play as a confident bunch.
"I think we were our own worst enemy, though. We just kept coughing up the puck. We gave it away numerous times.Especially in our own end we couldn't clear."
Popovic said a standout player for More was Pirrera, a Grade 10 student with varsity and AAA Steel rep experience.
"He's hard to catch on the ice," Popovic said. "He's a dominant player every time he touches the puck. He's fantastic."
According to Lamb, there isn't much difference between the senior and junior high school leagues. Senior is for all ages, while junior is restricted to just Grade 9s and 10s.
"These guys are smaller, but there's no skill difference," he said.
In the league's other game, the St. John Henry Newman Cardinals defeated the Bishop Tonnos Titans, 4-1. Ryder Drennan scored twice for Newman, while singles went to Owen Galvin and Will Lawrence.
Lucas Di Felice had the lone Tonnos goal.
The defending champion Bishop Ryan Celtics were idle Tuesday. They share top spot in the standings with St. Mary.
Photos by R.F. (Bob) Butrym, RFB Sport Photography
More photos on HWCDSB Athletics Facebook page
