National Championships: Day 8

Bison and Marmots battling it out on the turf in the fight for bronze in the U23 Men’s division on the last day of Nationals.

July 26, 2017 | Field Hockey Canada | fieldhockey.ca

The final day of competition in the 2017 National Championships, Day 8, was filled with final medal matches for the U18 and U23 age groups at Tamanawis Fields in Surrey, BC.

The sun was shining as the U18 men hit the turf to play to play for the bronze medal. Quebec faced the B.C. Lions to earn their right on the podium. Quebec came out early with a rocket from Daniel Nahir, but the B.C. Lions found their groove late in the first half, banking three goals within 10 minutes. The spirited game continued as Quebec tried to climb back into the game on the scoreboard, but to no avail, as the Lions won the game 4-1 to win bronze in the U18 Men’s division.

Playing on pitch two, Ontario East and Ontario West battled it out for 7th and 8th place in the U18 Women’s division. The game was well-matched, with both teams vying for a win. Harleen Mahal of Ontario Select hit the back of the net from a shot off a short corner to make it 1-0, where the game sat until the whistle blew.

Alberta and the B.C. Lions were up next on pitch two playing for 5th and 6th place in the U18 Women’s Division. The Lions came out first with a goal from Tara Hamilton in the 7th minute, and doubled their lead with a goal from Lonica McKinney before halftime. Heading into the second, the Lions lost their handle on the game and gave up their lead as Alberta captain Emily Smith tied it up 2-2 nearing the end of the match. The score stayed tied as time wrapped up.

Mid morning the first gold medal match of the day was underway. The B.C. Rams faced Ontario in the U18 Men’s division fighting for the title of National Champions. The first half was an intense back and forth battle knowing that gold was on the line. Rams captain Jamie Wallace scored off a short corner to have the lead going into the second half. But, Ontario came out in the second to win it. Ontario captain, and tournament leading goal scorer, Jagpreet Singh, earned a natural hat trick with three goals in 9 minutes to take his team to lead 3-1. The Lions tried to come back late in the second with a goal from Connor Rutledge, but it wasn’t enough to take back the game. Ontario earned gold with a 3-2 score, Lions earning silver.

U18 Men’s Tournament 11 Winners:

Name	Team
Kevin Watson	Alberta
Jagshir	Alberta
Jagpreet Singh	Ontario
Marek Chopra	Ontario
Brendan Guraliuk	BC Rams
Ganga Singh	Ontario
Arjan Hothi	BC Rams
Christpoher De Haas	BC Lions
Jason Dhaliwal	BC Lions
Noah Loomis	Quebec
Nick Syrros	Quebec

The U18 women hit the turf next with simultaneous gold medal and bronze medal matches. Ontario Central and the B.C. Stags battled for bronze in a tight, low scoring game, that saw both teams find it difficult to hit the back of the net. The game winning goal was delivered by Stags player Ashton Aumen in the 58th minute, and ultimately led B.C. to win the game, and the bronze medal.

On the pitch above, the fight for gold in the U18 Women’s division, was on. Ontario West and the B.C. Rams challenged each other for top spot in the country. Ontario West was strong on the ball as well as with their passing, and capitalized on their opportunities in front of the net with two goals from Madeline Osgarby who ensured her team walked away with a 4-1 victory, and the gold medal.

U18 Women’s Tournament 11 Winners:

Name	Team
Maryam Maamoun	Ontario East
Sara Goodman	BC Stags
Anna Mollenhaur	BC Stags
Lonica McKinney	BC Lions
Hannah Cook	Ontario Selects
Katie	Ontario West
Jordyn	Ontario West
Emily Smith	Alberta
Georgia Booker	BC Rams
Hannaa Punja	BC Rams
Dakota Chan	BC Rams
Danielle Husar	Ontario Central

The U23 men were back on the field in the late afternoon, playing in their medal rounds. The Bison and Marmots battled it out first for bronze, in a tight, relaxed, but competitive game. The first game saw both teams testing each other out, but something gave as Balraj Panesar shot a rocket into the back of the net for the Marmots to pull up with the lead. Teammate Vikramjeet Sandhu added to their lead, but the Bison battled back. Dilraj Sidhu of team Bison tried help lead his team back into the game with a late goal in the 4th quarter, but as time ran out, the Marmots kept their 2-1 lead to earn bronze.

The final game of the 2017 National Championships featured the U23 Men’s gold medal match. For National bragging rights, the Moose and Grizzlies faced off in the low, hot sun. The heat didn’t phase either team, who played a high tempo, competitive game of hockey. Neither team could hit the back of the net in the first two periods, but the high intensity game saw the Grizzlies light up the scoreboard with a rocket of a shot from Amrit Sidhu, to lead the team to win gold with a 1-0 score.

U23 Men’s Tournament 8 Winners:

Name	Team
Amrit Sidhu	Grizzlies
Sunny Aujla	Grizzlies
Balraj Panesar	Marmots
Gavin Bains	Marmots
Rohan Chopra	Moose
Zaiq Rana	Moose
Brandon Periera	Bison
Angus Grauer	Marmots

Congratulations to all the teams for an amazing week of hockey at the 2017 National Championships. Many thanks are in order:

Field Hockey Canada thanks our sponsors (Gryphon, Canada 150), Field Hockey Shack for providing gear and Tournament 11 swag, Team Punjabi for making it possible to stream the medal games, the dedicated physiotherapy staff, our tireless volunteers, and last but certainly not least, everyone at Field Hockey B.C. for hosting such a well coordinated event!

Congratulations again to all the players and coaches for a great tournament and great hockey! See everyone at Nationals in 2018.

For the full photo album of the 2017 National Championships head over to our Facebook page.