2017 Nationals Championships: Day 6

The sun was shining as Day 6 of the 2017 Nationals was underway. The day featured games from the U23 and U18 competitions with the Women’s U23 teams fighting for the top spot in the country, in their semi-final games.

The day began at 9:00 AM with the U23 Men’s team Moose facing the Grizzlies. The Moose came out right off the whistle ready to win with a goal from captain Rohan Chopra two minutes into the game. Teammate Zaiq Rana extended their lead with a second goal in the first quarter. The second quarter opened up with the Moose still dominating play, and another goal from Chopra. In the third quarter, a green card was awarded to the Moose, from which the Grizzlies found an opportunity and captain Amrit Sidhu, the back of the net. The last quarter remained goal-less and the game finished 3-1 for the Moose.

Up on the turf next were the U18 Men’s Albertan team versus Quebec. Isaac Farion came out swinging, taking an advantage from a green card awarded to Alberta and turned a short corner into a goal. Late in the first half Alberta was able to do the exact same. A green card was awarded to Quebec at the 31 minute mark, and Tanvir Kang of Alberta was able to use that momentum to smack a goal in one minute later. Coming into the second half tied 1-1, team Alberta charged back on field with two goals off short corners – one from Shazab Shahzad and a second from Kang to make it 3-1. Quebec tried to rally back, but a few cards handed out held them back. A late goal for Quebec in the 62nd minute wasn’t enough to shake Alberta’s lead who took the game 3-2.

In a well matched game, the U23 Men’s team Marmots challenged team Bison in a late morning match. The first two quarters were intense and back and forth, with no team able to create a lead. That all changed in the third quarter when Bison player Ramandeep Saini lit up the scoreboard. The Marmots had their chance to respond six minutes later when Vikramjeet Sandhu banked a goal in to tie the game up. As the clock timed out, the score remained at a 1-1 tie.

The last of the morning games saw an Ontario province showdown as Ontario Central took on Ontario East in the Women’s U18 division. The game was decisively Ontario Central’s, who came out to shutout the East 7-0. Ontario Central captain Jaslan Stirling scored a total of five goals to put her team forward for the win.

The afternoon saw that the U23 Women’s Semi-Finals were underway. Ontario and Alberta squared off in the first Semi-Final battle of the day. In another decisive match up, Ontario came out to win solidly, 9-0. Notable goal scorers of the game included Abby Ferenczy, Natalie Maw, and captain Alison Lee with two goals each, to lead team Ontario to play for gold tomorrow morning.

The U18 Women B.C. Stags were up next in an inter-pool provincial face off when they played the B.C. Lions in. It was an intense, rough game, with multiple green and yellow cards handed out. THe B.C. Stags took most of the cards, but also managed to come out on top with more goals. The Stags took the game 3-0.

Swinging to Pool A of the U18 Women’s competition, the B.C. Rams hit the turf to play the Ontario Select team. The match up was tight, until the 13th minute mark when the Rams unleashed the first of many goals, to take the win by the final whistle, 7-0.

The U23 Women Semi-Final 2 game was up next in another B.C. battle, for the right to play in the final. The Rams came out early with a goal six minutes in from Annalise Poohachoff, and the lead was solidified to 2-0 as Caitlyn Anson hit the back of the net off a short corner. After halftime, the Rams added another goal to the scoresheet, but the Lions roared back with two goals of their own to make the game 3-2. But it wasn’t enough as Rams player Brianna Ricker ripped a goal in at the 65th minute to ensure the Rams play in the gold medal game against team Ontario tomorrow.

As the sun started sinking lower in the sky, the U18 Men’s tournament was back in action. The B.C. Lions played Ontario in an intense, fiercely contested game. The Lions took the first half of the game and went into halftime with a 3-1 lead, (with two goals from Christophe De Haas). In the second half the Lions came out strong again with a goal from team captain Jason Dhaliwal, but Ontario swung the momentum back their way. Incorporating an assortment of players to hit the back of the net, the second half saw Ontario climb back to make the game tied 4-4 by the time the clock ran out.

Today seemed to be the day for blowouts in the U18 Women’s competition. It was the same when Ontario West faced Alberta in Pool A. Ontario West came out strong off the whistle, with Samantha McCrory leading the charge, in both goals and cards, with a hat trick to lead Ontario West to a 7-0 victory.

Just before 6:00 PM, the U23 Men stormed the field in one of the tightest matches seen all day. The Grizzlies played team Bison in a spirited, back and forth game that made for great hockey. The Bison came out early with a snipe from Ishtpal Brar. Grizzlies captain Harbir Sidhu answered to tied it up 1-1 in the second quarter off a short corner. A minute later the Bison stole their lead back with a rocket from Dilraj Sidhu to make it 2-1. The Bison then added to their lead in the third quarter, but the Grizzlies came charging back, to trail only by 1 heading into the last quarter. with 40 minutes plus to go, Sidhu Amrit pounded his second goal of the game in to leave the game sitting at a 3-3 tie.

In a more one sided game, the U18 Mens team BC Rams were up next to play Alberta. The first half was more contested, but as soon as the game entered the second half, the B.C. Rams unleashed an onslaught of goals – momentum that Alberta couldn’t turn around. Kyle Bishop lead the goalscoring for the Rams with a hat trick, Brendan Guraliuk following with two goals, to lead the team to a 7-0 win.

The last game of Day 6 took place when the U23 Men’s division saw that Marmots play team Moose. The Moose came out to score first, but couldn’t hold onto their lead, when the Marmots carried out their offensives. Jarman Johal from team Marmots lead the scoring for his team with two goals, to win 6-3 over team Moose.

Tune in tomorrow, Monday July 24, Day 7 of the National Championships to see the Women’s U23 age group play their final games for title of National Champs! You can catch the live stream U23 Women’s medal games here (as well as for other medal games to come.)

Also on the docket tomorrow – watch out for the U18 Men and Women’s divisions as they head into Semi-Final play tomorrow.

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For the full tournament schedule, click here.

For most up to date player and game statistics, click here.