Seth Griffith scoring the OHL Championship game winner - Photo copyright OHL Images/Terry Wilson

The tournament will run from May 17 to May 27 with each team completing a round robin before the playoff round beging.

Griffith enters as the regular season scoring leader and forward playoff scoring leader for the OHL representatives London Knights. In the OHL final, Griffith scored the series clinching goal against the Niagara Ice Dogs in game 5.

During the tournament, the London Knights will take on the Edmonton Oil Kings, who were the Western Hockey League champions, the Saint John Sea Dogs, who won the Quebec League and are the reigning Memorial Cup champions, as well as host team, the Shawinigan Cataractes who saw an early exit from the QMJHL playoffs.

Griffith and the Knights open the tournament May 19 against Saint John, followed by a game against Shawinigan the following day. London will then have 2 days off before facing Edmonton on May 22.

The statement said, “The Wallaceburg lakers would like to announce the new head coach for the 2012-2013 season, Paul Grealis. At this time we would also like to welcome part of his coaching staff, Ian Jacobs, Berk Doherty, and Jon Taylor.”

Grealis also coached the Wallaceburg Lakers in the early 2000′s taking over for Mark Davis when he moved on to coach the Petrolia Jets. Before that time, Grealis served as an assistant coach with the Lakers when they last won the league championship in 1999.

Grealis was the general manager last season for the Wallaceburg Lakers as they struggled to a 9-29-2 record. Grealis takes over from BJ Charpentier and his staff after the group was fired by the club earlier this spring.

Watch for more details on this story in the coming days.

Goure is competing as a member of Team Canada at the first ever Women’s Ice Sledge Hockey International Jamboree in Philadelphia.

On the official International Paralympic Committee website, the organization released a statement saying, “The event is the first of its kind and breakthrough for women in the sport of Ice Sledge Hockey.”

In her first game against Team Europe, Goure scored a hat trick for Canada as the Canadians defeated Europe 8-0. Canada’s second game, playing the USA, say Goure score again, but Team Canada fell 3-2.

In the team’s second day of competition, Goure scored a goal in both games helping Canada defeat the USA 5-0 and Team Europe 4-1.

Goure also played for Team Canada in 2007 in a sledge hockey challenge between Canada and the USA.

2012 OHL Champions - London Knights - Photo copyright Terry Wilson/OHL Images

That was the story Friday night as Wallaceburg’s Seth Griffith scored at 1:48 of the third period to give his London Knights a 2-0 lead.

After the Niagara Ice Dogs scored 6-minutes later, Griffith’s goal became the OHL Championship winning goal. The goal was scored on a 2-on-1 play with linemate Vladislav Namestnikov flipping a pass across to Griffith who one-timed the puck into the back of the Niagara net.

Austin Watson had the other London Knights goal in the 2-1 win.

Griffith and the London Knights will open their Memorial Cup bid Saturday May 19 against the Saint John Sea Dogs in Shawinigan, Quebec.

Seth Griffith of the OHL's London Knights - Photo copyright Terry Wilson/OHL Images

Griffith received 45 points in the voting, the most of any forward on the Second Team.

During the regular season, Griffith finished 9th in league scoring after sitting in the top five for most of the season. In 68 games, he led the London Knights in scoring with 45 goals, third most in the league, and added 40 assists for 80 points.

Currently in the post season, Griffith and his London Knights are one win away from a Memorial Cup berth as they lead the Niagara Ice Dogs 3-games-to-1.

Griffith is the 7th leading scorer in the playoffs with 22 points in 18 games.

He is still NHL draft eligible and is currently a free agent after going undrafted last season.

Brett Hope playing for the St. Thomas Stars - Photo courtesy of PhotosbyMG

The Junior B Alumni who spent the final two seasons of his Junior B career with the St. Thomas Stars, graduated this past year as the Stars’ captain and was named the best defensive forward in the GOJHL’s Western Conference. Hope also represented the stars at the Western Conference All-Star game.

Last year, Hope helped the St. Thomas Stars to a Sutherland Cup appearance after winning the Western Conference Championship.

This season in 50 games, Hope had 15 goals and 29 assists for 44 points. In his five year Junior B career, three of which he spent with the Chatham Maroons, Hope compiled 52 goals and 80 assists in 242 games. He also compiled 37 points in 48 playoff games.

The Buffalo State College Bengals play in the SUNYAC conference and made it to the league semi-final last season before losing a heartbreaker to Plattsburgh 4-3.

Hope will join three other Canadian players on the Buffalo State College roster who remain from last season.

Dane Fox at the CHL Top Prospects Game - Photo by Marissa Baecker/OHL Images

The Combine annually welcomes the world’s top NHL draft prospects for fitness testing as well as one-on-one interviews with general managers and league officials.

Running from May 28 until June 2, the NHL Draft Combine will showcase the top 105 prospects in the world to all 30 NHL teams.

Fox was named the Erie Otters co-MVP after being traded to the team from the London Knights mid-season. He was the team’s top scorer with 23 goals and 31 assists. Fox also participated in the CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game in British Columbia earlier this season.

Recently, Fox was named the 76th ranked prospect by The Hockey News, placing him in the top four rounds of the NHL draft this season.

The NHL Draft will be held this year in Pittsburgh on June 22 and June 23.

Nick, the cousin of current Chatham-Kent resident and NHL alumni Todd Warriner, has been an assistant coach with the Greyhounds for four seasons.

The announcement came as a positive one from Greyhounds general manager Kyle Dubas, saying that by not reneweing Warriner’s contract, who was the team’s top assistant and worked primarily with their defenseman, it would allow Warriner to investigate other job openings as they come available this summer.

The decision was not Dubas’ alone, as it is being reported the decision for change was made collaboratively between Dubas and Soo Greyhuonds head coach Mike Stapleton.

Warriner joined the Greyhounds in 2008-2009 after a four year NCAA career in New England, followed by three seasons bouncing around the minor professional hockey loops.

Warriner graduated from the Chatham Maroons in 2001 and served as the Maroons’ captain.

Amherstburg - From Amherstburg.ca

“The application lacked League support and fears of impacting on existing members in the immediate area were the underlying reasons for the denial,” said the OHA in an official release earlier this week.

Essex County already contains multiple Junior C franchises in the Essex 73s, Belle River Canadiens, and Kingsville Coments, as well as Junior B teams in the LaSalle Vipers and Leamington Flyers.

The Wheatley Sharks, another Junior C team which borders Essex and Kent County’s also draws players from Essex County’s minor hockey programs.

Although the decision that an additional franchise would impact drawing areas and diffuse talent in the league, the additional team would have been a welcomed site for many teams to bring the league up from 9 to 10 teams.

Currently, all four South Division teams (Belle River, Essex, Wheatley, Kingsville) make the playoffs regardless of their overall standing, however one North Division team (Blenheim, Wallaceburg, Dresden, Mooretown, Alvinston) could finish above other teams, yet fail to make the playoffs.

Amherstburg was seen as a prime candidate for a new franchise as the town has a brand new arena and is supported by two ‘AAA’ franchises with the Sun County Panthers and Windsor Junior Spitfires playing locally. Town support was also present in the bid.

Amherstburg had a Junior C team, nicknamed the Vikings, until 1997. Other local centres to leave the league in the last two decades include Tilbury and Walpole Island.

The Amherstburg group will continue to pursue a Junior C franchise and plan to re-apply to the OHA next season.

2012 Western Conference OHL Champions - London Knights - Photo from Twitter

Wednesday, Griffith led the London Knights to a 4-2 win over the Kitchener Rangers completing the Knights’ four game sweep of the Rangers, and lifting them into the OHL final as Western Conference Champions.

In the second period, Griffith got his first point of the game, an assist, on Ryan Rupert’s powerplay goal.

Later in the period, Griffith scored his own powerplay goal, with assists going to Olli Maatta and Vladislav Namestnikov, who each finished with mulit-point games of their own.

With the clock ticking down in the third period and the London Knights protecting a 3-2 lead, Griffith was on the ice in a defensive role, but was able to score his second of the game sliding the puck into Kitchener’s empty net.

Griffith has 19 points in 14 playoff games this season.

London now awaits the winner of the Niagara Ice Dogs versus Ottawa 67s series. Niagara currently leads the series 3 games to 1.