Hosts to the 2026 OHF (Ontario Hockey Federation) U13 AA Championships, the Copper Cliff Reds were more than a tad competitive, eliminated in semi-final action on Sunday morning.

While the TNT Tornadoes (eventual gold medal winners) ran the table with a 4-0-0 record in round robin play, Copper Cliff finished deadlocked at 2-2-0 with both the London Jr Knights and the Leaside Flames.

Backstopped by an outstanding effort between the pipes from Mio Martic (36 saves), the Reds surprised London 3-2 in the tournament opener on Friday morning, with Cedric Poulin pulling Copper Cliff even at 1-1 early in the middle stanza and Merrick Charbonneau deflecting a pair of shots from the point home, giving the Reds a 3-1 advantage heading to the third.

The elation of the morning game gave way to the stark reality about the depth of this field as Leaside bounced Copper Cliff 7-1 in the afternoon affair, with Poulin netting his second goal in as many games.

Needing one more win to ensure a playoff berth, the Reds bounced back on Saturday morning with a 2-0 win over the Soo Jr Greyhounds as Jérémie Neale and Coen Larochelle scored in support of goaltender Martic and his shutout effort.

A 5-2 loss to TNT (goals by Cedric Poulin and Jérémie Neale) factored into the three-way tie, with the tie-breaking gods unwilling to smile upon the Copper Cliff crew, the latter forced to play TNT in the semis.

The Tornadoes tripled their northern hosts 6-2 (CC goals Noah Kritz and Clark Montgomery) and subsequently built up a 4-1 lead after two periods against the Jr Knights in the final, just enough of a cushion to hold on for a 4-3 win.

The Reds, for their part, had pulled to within a goal (2-1) late in period two against TNT before the Tornadoes struck for a pair late in the frame, securing their spot in the gold medal affair.

The remainder of the Copper Cliff U13 "AA" Reds: Malik Ariss, Tyce Cousineau, Nate Didone, Mylo McHugh, Carter Meunier, Chase Morrell, Wyatt Powell, Jaxon Rocca, Sam Seguin and Patrick Snow.