Apparently the Northern Chill U16 Glaciers Boys were more than a little anxious to showcase to the rest of the province just how much improvement they had made during the 2023-2024 season.

Entering provincials ranked right near the bottom of the Division I second tier of 16 teams, the Glaciers blitzed their way through six straight sets on day of the OVA Championships a week and a half ago, upending the Storm Rip Tide from Aurora (25-16, 25-20), the Barrie Elies Blizzard (25-16, 25-19) and the Flames Blue from Burlington (25-13, 25-20).

Bumped up a whopping 11 spots for re-pooled play the next day, the Glaciers made it four straight thanks to a 25-20, 25-20 win over the Niagara Rapids Strikers. Losses to both the Toronto Thunderbolts Smash (13-25, 18-25) and the Kingston Rock – Black (24-26, 20-25) helped ensure the local lads were well-grounded coming into playoff action on day three.

The lowest ranked team of the eight in their tier, the Chill crew advanced to the semi-finals, ousting the Peterborough Thunder 25-20, 25-22. The team would face their first three set match of the tournament opposite the Durham Attack Impact from Oshawa in the semis, finishing on the wrong end of a 21-25, 25-22, 6-15 score line.

But just like so many of their clubmates had already done this month, the rapidly progressing squad refused to head home empty-handed, blasting the Kingston Rock in the rematch, 25-16, 25-18, and earning bronze medals in the process.

The 2023-2024 Northern Chill U16 Glaciers lineup features Jeremy Rhéaume, Jack Jones, Danik Leblanc, Bryce Broglio, Justin Lafontaine, Hayden Quevillon, Reid Zakamarko, Olivier Tremblay, Jérémie Prévost, Ethan LeBlanc, Wesley Gibson, Riley Payzant, Gabriel Larocque, head coach Richard Faucher, assistant coach Mike Leblanc and team manager Melanie Leblanc.