Sports briefs: Navan Hockeyville, Rangers minor hockey, Ontario Winter Games

It’s now up to the judges to determine which 12 finalists will compete for the title of Hockeyville with the Monday, Jan. 18 deadline having passed to submit stories and photos to explain why each community deserves the honour.

As of press time, Renfrew had the edge for third-highest total number of stories in Ontario and 13th nationwide with 84 compared to Navan’s 82, although organizer Lyne Proulx knows several last-minute stories hadn’t yet been screened and should eventually get posted.

Proulx will know by Feb. 11 if CBC has chosen Navan as a finalist, while the first show featuring the top-12 is scheduled to air March 15. The winner of the Hockeyville contest receives $100,000 for arena repairs and gets to host an NHL exhibition game.

The Gloucester Rangers Major Bantam ‘AA’ team won their division at the Capital Winter Classic in dramatic fashion this past weekend, downing the tournament hosts 4-3 in the final.

Gloucester overcame a 3-0 deficit in the championship game against the Kanata Blazers, who have a 17-0-5 record in league play.

Colonel By student Ian Holstead earned a fifth-place result in the Ontario Winter Games cross-country skiing competition this past weekend at Arrowhead Provincial Park in Muskoka.

Holstead placed fifth of 23 athletes in the junior boys’ 10-kilometre mass start event, finishing 50 seconds behind the winner in 31 minutes, 55.6 seconds. The cross-country ski event was held before the rest of the March 4-7 Winter Games to accommodate a scheduling conflict with the national championships.