In Sudbury, Ontario, over the November 21st to 23rd weekend, the North Channel Lightning of Desbarats, Ontario delivered a remarkable performance at the 2025 VEMHA November House League Tournament, powering their way through the U13 division against thirteen other teams from across Northern Ontario. With dominant play at both ends of the ice and consistent scoring depth, the Lightning stormed through the tournament undefeated to capture the championship title.
To open round robin in game one, the Lightning opened their weekend on Friday, November 21st, facing the VE Lions Club. Dakota Sharpe put North Channel on the board early at 1:35 of the first, finishing a setup from Nate Vine. After a scoreless second period, the Lightning sealed the win in the third with two late insurance markers from Jaxon King—one at 9:45 and an empty-netter with six seconds remaining. Kaiden McCracken was solid between the pipes in the victory, while Patrick Bertrand tended goal for the Lions.
Game two of round robin in Sudbury, North Channel returned to the ice Saturday morning to take on VE Tremblay Bookkeeping, and their offensive engines roared. Just 50 seconds into the game, Carter Jarrell struck first with help from Colter Stadnisky. The Lightning erupted for four goals in the second period: Ellis Laakso from Stadnisky, a powerplay tally from King, and back-to-back markers by Brinley Collings—one unassisted, the other set up by Mya Laakso and Mayson Brockelbank. The Lightning kept rolling in the third with powerplay goal from Jarrell, followed by tallies from Ryker Lesnick and King to complete his four-goal tournament start. McCracken once again earned the win, with Keenan Joyce in net for Tremblay Bookkeeping.
In their final round robin matchup Saturday afternoon, the Lightning met the Valley Market Oilers and wasted no time asserting control. Nate Vine opened the scoring at 9:28, assisted by Carter Lacasse, before Carter Jarrell added his third of the tournament. Vine followed up with two more goals—one on the powerplay and one at even strength—to complete a first-period hat trick and put North Channel ahead 4–0. The Oilers found the board in the third with a powerplay marker from Ethan Courtemanche, but McCracken and the Lightning held strong for a 4–1 win.
In the semi-final, North Channel hti the ice to face Smartech bright and early Sunday morning, the Lightning took the ice in a semi-final showdown with Smartech. Jarrell continued his hot streak with a first-period goal from Brockelbank at 7:57. King added another unassisted marker in the second before Smartech responded on the powerplay. Smartech tied the game early in the third, but Jarrell stepped up once again, netting his fifth of the tournament at 2:27 to secure North Channel’s berth in the championship game. McCracken and Smartech’s Xavier Arseneau battled well in the crease.
In the gold medal game Sunday afternoon, the undefeated (4-0) Lightning faced a strong Valley East Fountain Tire squad (3-1). North Channel wasted no time setting the tone—Jaxon King scored his sixth of the tournament at 2:14, followed just 18 seconds later by an unassisted goal from Nate Vine. With tight defensive play dominating the second period, the Lightning entered the final frame up 2–0. King delivered once more at 7:22, notching his seventh of the tournament to give North Channel breathing room. Valley East broke the shutout late with a goal from Anderson Bertrand, assisted by Alexandre Laplante, but it wasn’t enough to halt the Lightning’s momentum.
When the final buzzer sounded, the North Channel Lightning capped off a perfect 5-0 weekend to bring home gold from the 2025 VEMHA November House League Tournament. With standout goaltending from Kaiden McCracken, explosive offense led by Jarrell, King, and Vine, and contributions up and down the lineup, the Lightning proved themselves the class of the U13 division—earning a championship title in dominant, undefeated fashion.
Coach Jake McCracken told Saultsports that “we have a good bunch of kids with positive energy in the dressing room. That energy showed up on the ice as the kids played really hard to earn the wins. Many players are playing positions they aren’t used to and there were zero complaints. As the tournament progressed the players learned from their mistakes. They’d come to the bench and acknowledge where they could have made better choices – excited for the next shift to prove themselves. I was impressed with the amount of discipline and growth the kids demonstrated even since last year. They took a lot of hacks from the opposition and we had zero retaliations.”
“Really looking forward to seeing these kids develop this season,” added McCracken.
