U16 National Championship – Day 3 Update

Day 3 at out U16 National Championship in Calgary brought a slight temperature drop, which was well received by the teams. The heat was beginning to take its toll on everyone. With 7 games scheduled, the day was full of fantastic hockey.

The excitement came early and often with a 7:30am Pool B tie-breaker shootout between Ontario White and BC Blue girls. After round-robin, both teams were equal in goals for-and-against, head-to-head matchup as well as goals for. BC Blue was able to come out with the shootout victory which meant BC Blue finished first, Ontario White finished 2^nd and Alberta took 3^rd after round-robin.

In the second match of the day Ontario Red took on Ontario White in boys round-robin play. The game was a heated contest as both teams wanted to earn Ontario bragging rights. With a goal in the 1^st minute by Ontario Red’s Sukhraj Toor, and 2^nd minute yellow card, the tone was set. Both teams traded goals in the 1^st half for a 1-1 halftime score. A late 56^th minute goal by Ontario White’s Joshua Kuempel made the final score 3-1 in favor of Ontario White.

Game 3 was quarter-final number 1 between Quebec and BC Blue girls. BC Blue came out strong with a 3^rd minute goal by Aishreet Sander on a nicely worked field goal. In the 15^th minute Madeline Wong was able to find the back to make it 2-0. Quebec played some strong defense and was able to keep BC Blue at bay. At the final whistle the scoreboard read 8-0 in favor of BC. They will go on to play Alberta in the semi-finals.

In the 2^nd girls quarter-final, BC Yellow matched up against Alberta. With the home crowd backing the Albertans, both teams came out with strong pace. A 17^th minute goal by BC Yellow’s Cordel Tromp, was matched by a 29^th minute goal by Alberta’s Jessica Hart, which took the game into halftime tied at 1. After a goal mouth scramble, Alberta was able to claim the victory in the 67^th minute through Holly Richmond. Alberta will now face BC Blue in the semi-finals.

The 3^rd girl’s semi-final pitted BC White against Ontario White. BC White was able to open the scoring in the 21^st minute with a well worked penalty corner by Moira Roadhouse. Ontario was able to equalize just 1 minute into the 2^nd half with a field goal by Julia Billings. With the score tied at the end of full time, the game went to a shootout competition. Standout performance goes to Ontario White goalkeeper Paramdeep Gill who made 4 solid saves. Ontario won the shootout 2-1 and will now move on to play Ontario Red in the semi-final.

Game five brought back the men’s competition with Alberta playing Quebec. The game was a very fast passed game with both team’s goalies being called on to make big saves to keep the score locked at 0-0. With 4 minutes’ left in the game Alberta’s Shahzab Shahzad ripped a drag flick passed the keeper and into the top corner over the postman’s head. Alberta was able to take the win 1-0

Game 6 was also part of the men’s competition and it matched Ontario Red and BC. The game was filled with end-to-end action until the 25^th minute when Ontario Red was able to capitalize on a penalty corner through Harsimran Dhugga. In the second half, BC was able to reply with goals in the 34^th, 40, and 43^rd minute taking a 3-1 victory. The win elevated BC to the top of the men’s pool.

The final game of the day was a consolation game between Quebec and BC White. With nothing to lose, both teams were able to play free flowing hockey. BC Yellow had most of the offense, but Quebec’s defense, led by goalkeeper Annabelle Murray, were able to stand tall at the back finishing the first half tied at 0. In the second half BC was able to find the back of the net with 2 goals. The game finished 2-0.

 Mens Pool Standings (after round-robin)

BC                                          10 points

Ontario White                  9 points

Alberta                                7 points

Quebec                                3 points

Ontario Red                      0 points

Schedule for tomorrows matches – Saturday July 23rd 

8:30am Boys SF1 – Quebec vs Ontario Red

10:15am Girls SF2 – Ontario White vs Alberta

12:00pm Girls Cons – BC White vs Quebec

1:45pm Girls SF1 – Ontario White vs Ontario Red

3:30pm Girls SF2 – BC Blue vs Alberta