Former York University hockey player Marty Williamson has led the Aurora Tigers to the Royal Bank Cup National Junior A Championship. The Tigers captured their first national title with a 7-1 victory over the Kindersley Klippers (Saskatchewan) on May 16 in the championship final in Grande Prairie, Alberta.
Right: Marty Williamson
Williamson, Aurora’s head coach, was a defenceman with the York men’s hockey team from 1984 to 1986. A member of York’s 1984-1985 national championship team, he registered two goals and 18 assists in two seasons.
Mike Kostka, son of former York head coach and player Chris Kostka, is a defenceman with the Tigers championship team. The younger Kostka scored twice in Aurora’s 7-1 final victory over Kindersley.
Chris Kostka played for York from 1975 to 1979, recording six goals and 25 assists. He also compiled a 25-15-4 record as York’s head coach from 1980 to 1982 and was named OUAA Coach of the Year in 1980-1981. An active member of York’s hockey alumni, Kostka sponsors the York Hockey Leadership Award.
Aurora, the Ontario Provincial Junior Hockey League (OPJHL) champions and Central Canada representatives, finished the five-team Royal Bank Cup with a convincing 5-1 record. The Tigers are the first Ontario team to win the Royal Bank Cup since the Thunder Bay Flyers in 1992.