It was a record-setting day for the Soo Bantam Greyhounds of the Northern Ontario AAA Bantam Hockey League on Sunday.
Playing their final regular season game, the Bantam Hounds finished off the season in fine fashion with a 13-2 victory over the North Bay Athletics.
The Bantam Hounds set or tied 17 NOBHL records this season including 10 team records. The only team record that the Bantam Hounds did not set was most ties in a season.
The team records include:
* Most Points, One Season – 65 * Best Winning Percentage, One Season – .956 * Most Wins, One Season – 32 * Fewest Losses, One Season – 1 * Most Goals For, One Season – 205 * Fewest Goals Against, One Season – 43 * Fewest Goals Against, One Season (Minimum 34-Game Schedule) – 43 * Highest Goals For-Per-Game Average, One Season – 6.02 * Lowest Goals Against-Per-Game Average, One Season – 1.26 * Most Shutouts, One Season – 10
On top of Sunday's win, the Bantam Hounds scored 10-1 and 7-0 victories on Saturday over the same North Bay club.
In Sunday's game, Dean Howard, who set a pair of individual records in the win, picked up a goal and seven assists in the win. Mike Rivard scored a natural hat-trick and picked up an assist. Jerry Petingalo, Jacob Chiblow, and Anthony Colizza each had a pair of goals while Brett Perlini, Kevin Closs, and Jarrett Burton added singles in the win.
For Howard, Sunday's game helped him secure the NOBHL record for most points in a season and highest points-per-game average in a season. Rivard also tied a league record with a second period power play goal, which was his 12th power play goal of the season.
The Bantam Hounds not only set a number of offensive records, but goaltender Justin Hogsden set three new records and tied another. Hogsden's 1.17 goals against average was a new league standard, as were his six shutouts and 17 victories.
Hogsden also tied a league mark by not losing a regular season game. That makes him one of three goaltenders – Matthew Cooper and Alex Levesque, who both played with Sudbury, are the others – who managed to go through the regular season without suffering a loss.
Bantam Hounds coach Dominic Deluca had nothing but praise for his players following Sunday's game. Deluca called the group "an extended family."
"When we were starting to put the team together two years ago, we saw this group together and we seen the potential they had," Deluca said. "We told them 'If you listen to what we try to teach you, you'll be successful'.
"All the credit goes to the kids. I told the kids that these are things you shouldn't forget. I'm proud that they work so hard. It makes it fun to come to the rink. It's like having an extended family. They're 18 coachable kids."
Deluca added that from the coaching staff to the trainers to the players, the group works well together and that's what makes the team successful as well.
"From the coaching staff (including assistant coaches Darrin Grosso and Keith Coletti) and the training staff (including Dan Chlebus and Dominic Deluca Sr.) to the players, it's just one big cohesive unit," Deluca added. "It makes it fun to come to the rink."
Deluca added that he was pleased with Captain Dean Howard being able to set the NOBHL record for most points. Deluca had plenty of praise for the young forward.
"Dean's a really quiet leader," Deluca said. "It meant a lot to get him that record. The other players look up to him. They respect him so much."
The Bantam Hounds now have some time off prior to the playoffs as Sunday marked their last regular season game. The NOBHL regular season officially ends next weekend with the playoffs starting the following weekend.
Playoff seedings are still not official. The Bantam Hounds will open up the best of five first round playing either Timmins or North Bay.