U12 Provincial Champions
2019-04-08
Robyn Wright-Kearney scores tying goal with 21 sec left to force overtime!
U12PP Blue - Leemhuis' teamwork, grit and determination take them to the Provincial finals and GOLD!
Photo Credit: Tracy Waxman
Teamwork and Determination Lead to Provincial Gold
By: Coach Kim Leemhuis
The U12P-Blue team finished off the season in spectacular fashion. Heading into the Provincial event in Guelph the team had 2 silver medals and a gold medal from tournament play during the year and were peaking at just the right time with 2 shut-out wins in league play against CORA & Nepean and a tie with WORA--a team that consistently beat them all season.
The team defeated Guelph in their opening game but stumbled on Friday with a 3-2 loss to Markham and a 3-3 come-from-behind tie against Waterloo. Realizing Saturday would be the deciding factor in heading deeper into the tournament, the Devils kicked it into high gear and played one of their best games of the season that morning, dominating Richmond Hill 10-4. With their sister team GCRA U12P-Red cheering them on from the stands, they rode the wave of their morning success to a 6-2 win over Kitchener in game 5 and earned themselves a spot in the semi-final on Sunday.
The semi-final was a rematch with Waterloo, but it was not a repeat of game 3. The Devils came out flying and Waterloo was denied the back of the net by fantastic goaltending from Janie Chrétien & Jessica Robinson and a tough & mighty defensive triangle. The forwards and centres quickly made a statement by scoring 3 goals in the first period and sealed the shutout with one more in the second for a 4-0 final score.
Photo Credit: XGen Photo
Photo Credit: XGen Photo
The final was but a few hours later against Richmond Hill (who, finishing in 1st place had a bye and didn't play that morning). GCRA was ready to repeat their success from a few hours previously but they didn't score until midway through period 1 and at the half the score was 3-2 for Richmond Hill but fatigue was quickly catching up with the Devils in game 7. The coaching staff reassured them they still had gas in the tank to push the Lightning harder: they needed to double-team their ring carriers and shorten their shifts to make it happen... and the Devils delivered. Mid-period, in less than two and a half minutes, they scored 4 goals. Richmond Hill answered and heading into the dying seconds of the period the Lightning were ahead 7-6. With a beautiful wrist shot with 21 seconds remaining in the game, defencewoman Robyn Wright-Kearney scored the tying goal to send the game into overtime and the noise in the arena was deafening! The exhausted players went into a 3rd period and played another intense 5 minutes and 45 seconds of "sudden death" before Riley Dallaire scored the 8th and deciding goal that clinched the gold medal.
Congratulations girls on being Ontario provincial champions in 2019! Your parents and coaches are so proud of what you've accomplished this season and how you've come together as a team.
Photo Credit: XGen Photo
Photo Credit: XGen Photo