Apr 17, 2012 | Dave Randerson | 1729 views
Provincial Champions !!
Wow...what an amazing finish to the season. Provincial Champions. Its something that is very special and even more so, how this team was able to accomplish this outstanding achievement. Coaches are always talking about playing as a team, but this group of girls took it to a whole new level.
The Provincial Tournament Championship was the end of a journey that at the start of the season was not even part of our thought process. These girls signed up to play hockey and have some fun. This team always played hard, and accepted losing as much as they enjoyed winning. Through their hard work, commitment and unselfishness, they were able to achieve things as a team that even they weren't sure were possible. They believed in themselves and each other which led them to success.
At the Provincial Tournament, all the tough losses and lessons learned through the season, were transformed into a dominating performance. Compiling a 6-0 record, the girls scored a total of 22 goals and allowed just 4. It didn't seem that easy, but the stats don't lie. The most telling thing about these stats, is that the 22 goals were scored by ten diiferent players. All eight forwards and two of the defense tallied goals. That is what this team was all about. As well, both goalies ended with 3-0 records, and registered atleast one shutout. Again...the stats don't lie. Wins in the Round Robin over Ingersoll(4-0), SSM(8-0) and Ottawa Valley(2-1) gave us the number 1 seed of all the six pool winners. Up next was our league rival Waterloo in the quarters. The girls came out on fire, and were rewarded with a 3-1 win to set up a rematch with Ottawa Valley in the semis. The winner with a chance to play for Gold. The team put on a defensive clinic, backstopped by Zoey, to shutdown a very strong Ottawa Valley team and winning the game 2-0. That setup a Gold medal game against a previously unseen team from Carleton Place. It was a dream start to the final game as the girls got two early goals to jump in front 2-0. Everyone knew that Carleton Place wasn't going to go away, and with a late goal with only 7 seconds left in the second period, they closed within one. Then again about two minutes into the third period, Carleton place struck again to tie the game and steal all the momentum. This was the point of the game where the girls made the decision as a group to battle back like they have all season. The game remained tied til with three minutes left, a scramble into front of the Carleton Place net resulted in the Championship goal for the Wolverines that they so desperately wanted. For the rest of the game, the team played text book defence to defend the one goal lead with help from Bailey in the net. The final score was 3-2 Wolverines , and the girls had finished a dream tournament by bringing Wilmot their first every Provincial Gold.
Congratulations girls ! We are so proud of you !