Day two of Under 18 National Championship Tournament play here in Calgary showcased beautiful goals, crucial saves, and smooth possession. BC White and Alberta opened the day in the first game. The two teams came out strong and fought an even match in the first half; BC White took advantage of some well-earned corners as Alberta tried to move positively on transition. Ultimately, BC White came away with a solid win at 6-0 over the host province. BC Blue and Manitoba took the pitch next. While Manitoba was fierce on defense and held their ground in front of goal, BC Blue’s offensive prowess was unrelenting. BC Blue went undefeated in pool play and came away with a decisive 12-0 win over Manitoba. The last game of the morning and of pool play featured BC Yellow and PEI with a strong effort on both sides. BC Yellow prevailed with a 9-0 win over PEI, and rounding out a back-to-back-to-back kind of morning for BC.
The end of pool play also brought the end of sunshine as some storms rolled in for the afternoon, delaying quarterfinal start times. BC Blue finished on top of Pool A, with BC Yellow, PEI, and Manitoba in second, third, and fourth respectively. Ontario, BC White, and Alberta went first, second, and third respectively in Pool B. An undefeated run and number 1 position in Pool A gives BC Blue a bye to the semifinals. The first quarterfinal of the afternoon featured Ontario (1) and Manitoba (4). #17 Ashley Mendonca scored first for Ontario, but not after stellar defensive efforts on the part of Manitoba and its goalie Kristen Hunt. Ontario executed some excellent corners and finished 10-0 over Manitoba, just as the rains moved back in. With a delayed start, PEI (3) and BC White (2) rounded out day two of tournament play. BC saw strong leadership and points from #6 Jasmeen Dhaliwal in the back and PEI impressed with #3 Abbey MacLellan in the middle. BC finished the day on top with a 7-0 win.
Next quarterfinal is tomorrow morning Saturday August 9 at 9am MDT featuring Alberta (3) versus BC Yellow (2) at Hawkings Field on the University of Calgary campus. The consolation game between Manitoba and PEI will follow at 11am. Semifinals begin at 1pm with BC Blue (1A) versus BC White (2B), and the winner of BC Yellow/Alberta will play Ontario (1B) at 3pm MDT. Please follow us on Twitter under @FieldHockeyCan for live tweeting during games and schedule updates following the last quarterfinal with the hashtag #FHCu18nats. It will be a great day of hockey!
